The Dark Lord's Proteges
by Seanogen
Summary: Harry heads to the Mirror room, set on confronting Snape, but instead finds Voldemort. What if Voldemort is not what he thinks? And what effects will this have on the Wizarding world? Features a Dark!Harry, Dark!Hermione, Smart and Powerful Voldemort, Powerful but senile Dumbledore.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter, sadly, doesn't belong to me. It belongs to JK Rowling.

A/N: I'm still alive! I will still be posting to ROH2, but this story has been bouncing in my head for a while and i wanted to get it out there. Its based off of that Voldemort was apparently very powerful and clever, able to fool so many people. Why then, through Harry Potter did he absolutely fail to act like that at all? So, this Voldemort is smarter, more powerful and has grand plans, and these plans involve some of our favourites.

Please read, review and follow!

Chapter 1 - The first meeting

"_Harry Potter"_

Harry stared at the face, red menacing eyes and slits for nostrils and panicked. He had no desire to continue to stand there, facing off against _Voldemort_ of all people. He tried to get his legs moving so that he could run in the opposite direction, but his legs refused to move.

"_See what I have become? Mere shadow and vapour. _This is what I was reduced to that fateful night when I set out to remove the threat stated in the prophecy."

Harry frowned. "Prophecy? You went there to kill my parents!"

Harry watched as confusion crossed the face of Voldemort before it settled to amusement. "You mean to tell me that Dumbledore has not told you the reason I came after your family? Why I targeted you?" Harry shook his head. "Interesting."

"You mean, you came to kill me? What about my parents?"

Voldemort nodded. "Yes, your parents. Fierce, powerful warriors they were. They could stand toe to toe with me; not many wizards could. I had the upmost respect for them and their skills. But don't you find it odd that I had battled with them three times? They had either driven me to a standstill or to defeat each time. Do you see a problem here?"

Harry was confused – this was Voldemort, the evil wizard who had come to kill him as a child, yet he was trying to have a discussion with him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, the fact that these two powerful warriors, who have held their ground against me, would almost just roll over and die when I come and attack a fourth time. Does that not seem very strange to you, Harry Potter? Haven't you been told anything about that night?"

Voldemort watched as a flash of anger crossed Harry's eyes. _'Hmm. This will be a lot easier than I expected.'_

"No. No one has told me anything about that night. The only thing I know is that you came to attack my family and that I survived the killing curse" Harry said. Voldemort raised an eyebrow and gave a cold laugh. "Survived the killing curse? No one, not even I, could survive the killing curse. No. I didn't hit you with that Harry."

Harry didn't know what to say to that. This was the man who he had been told had tried to kill him! Shouldn't he be trying to kill him now?

Voldemort stood there, studying Harry. "I will make a deal with you Harry Potter. I will not kill you now and take the stone in your pocket from your corpse. I ask that you do one thing. Ask Albus Dumbledore why I attacked your family that night in Godric's Hollow. See if he tells you about the prophecy. If he does not, I will tell you the prophecy. If he does not tell you, leave a red envelope at Hogsmeade Station by the rock near the entrance. I will seek you out."

Harry didn't respond immediately, thinking it over. This man was supposedly evil, yet was willing to tell him more about that night, about this prophecy. No one else wanted to. Everyone he had asked simply said 'Sorry Harry, I don't know more about that night' or 'I'm not allowed to tell you.' He slowly nodded. No matter what, he wanted to hear more about his parents, and he had the right to know. His family was attacked, surely someone would tell him why.

Voldemort smiled and waved his hand, releasing Harry from the body bind. Harry felt cold at the realisation that Voldemort had him completely at his mercy and could have done absolutely anything. The fact that he had done nothing but talk to him made him feel even colder. Could Voldemort possibly be telling the truth?

"Now, I'm afraid that if I leave you alone, Dumbledore will become very suspicious. So I'm afraid I'm going to have to attack you" He looked back up into the red eyes of Voldemort and nodded. He saw the wand raise and a flash of red light before darkness overcame him.

Voldemort lowered his wand and stared at the young boy on the floor. This was the boy who was supposed to defeat him? He had discovered over the year that the boy had no training, no knowledge – instead, he had been shipped and imprisoned with _muggles_ of all people. Voldemort loathed muggles. They had their uses, yes, and they had power, no denying, but they were disgusting, horrifying creatures that loved to fight.

He turned and sent a blasting charm at the mirror, conjuring a shield charm protecting himself and Harry from the shrapnel. He then turned and knelt near the boy. "I'll uphold my promise to you." With that, he stood up and extracted himself from Quirrell. As the last of his spirit left the body it collapsed. He had known that the body wouldn't last much longer, and his final possession had, as painlessly as possible, killed off Quirrells spirit. The man had been mostly useless but he had cared and looked after his master for the last year. Either way, if the body wasn't left behind then Dumbledore would be alerted that he was back.

That was the last thing he wanted. Let Dumbledore think he was defeated for now. Besides, he had other things to do.

_Harry, Infirmary Wing_

Albus Dumbledore stood watching the Boy-Who-Lived as he slept in the hospital bed. The boy had performed how he expected and his plan had worked exactly as he had expected. Voldemort had gone after the stone and failed, being banished from Quirrell.

Albus regreted that Quirrell couldn't have been saved. Any lives lost was a waste and should be avoided if possible. Ariana still sat at the front of his mind, and she was the reason that he had pushed for the Death Eaters to be sent to Azkaban. Yes, they were serving life sentences but they would still be alive.

It was why he had left the boy with the Dursleys. Yes, they were horrible people but they were his family. Dumbledore knew that the boy would be safe with muggles and it would provide protection to them as well, as undoubtedly Voldemort's supporters and Death Eaters would be interested in 'having a talk' with them.

He had retrieved the stone from Harry as soon as he had made it into the room and sent it back to the Flamels. The stone had run its use as a trap and had shown him that Harry was indeed the prophesised one.

Albus looked up as Harry stirred. His eye's opened and seemed to look around the room.

"Harry, my boy, well done. I knew you could do it" Albus beamed at him as he handed over his glasses.

"Sir, Voldemort was there! The stone!" Harry said, looking around. "Harry, my boy, don't worry about it. You stopped him from retrieving the stone. I retrieved it and sent it back to the Flamels. Voldemort will not be coming back using the stone."

Harry leant back, relieved. He leant back and sighed as his body relaxed. Something drifted through his mind that Voldemort had said to him. "Sir, why did Voldemort want to kill me? He said he came after me"

Years of experience was the only reason that Dumbledore kept a straight face. "Ah, Harry my boy, I'm afraid I can't tell you yet. You deserve to relax and enjoy your childhood. Voldemort won't attempt to come back again just yet."

Harry nodded. He was annoyed at the fact that Dumbledore had just simply dismissed his question. Voldemort had come after him when he was a baby, and he had been down in the room with the mirror. Harry felt he should know why Voldemort was after him, or at least why he was a big part of his life. Dumbledore had just patted him on the head.

"Sir, do I have to go back to the Dursleys? I can stay with my friend Ron, or Hermione." Harry didn't like the pleading tone of his voice; he didn't want to sound desperate or pathetic but he couldn't help it. Dumbledore gave him a look of pity that sent a flash of anger through Harry.

"I'm sorry Harry, but for your safety I'm afraid you must stay at the Dursleys. The protection given by your mother with her love will only protect you if you stay with any family. As your aunt is the only family you have, you must stay with her. The wards protecting you are powerful."

"Sir, they don't care for me! They hate me!" Harry said, sitting back up. Dumbledore put his hand on his shoulder and gently pushed him back down. "Harry, they are your family. They may not love you as much as their son, but they do love you. Please, just accept that this is the truth." Harry realised that he wasn't going to be able to change his mind so he decided to sit back.

"Sir, how did I get the stone out of the mirror?" Dumbledore smiled. "Ah, Harry, one of my more brilliant ideas. To retrieve the stone, one simply must want to find the stone, not feel the need to use it. Voldemort would want the stone to return him from the half-life he has condemned himself to. But enough of this. I think it's time for me to make sure the feast is ready." With that, Dumbledore walked out, leaving Harry to his thoughts.

Harry stared at the retreating figure of Dumbledore and couldn't help but find himself annoyed. He was the one who was being targeted by Voldemort, yet he had no training, no knowledge to help him fight. Instead, he was just being shipped back to the muggles. He felt the familiar rise of fear in his stomach, making him nauseous. He forced his mind to think about that he would find out about his parents and the supposed prophecy that Voldemort would tell him. He also needed to find a red envelope.

_Voldemort, Wizengamot Chamber _

Voldemort couldn't believe how easy to walk into the Ministry after everything that had happened. The 'security guard' on the desk was a joke, not even checking the name before waving him through. The Ministry itself hadn't changed from the reports that Lucius had given him. He stopped to look at the fountain and found it so telling about the magical population. A wizard would never find himself going anywhere near a centaur, would look down at a house elf and would barely tolerate the goblins.

Likewise, the centaur would avoid the wizard, the house elf would be cowering in fear and there was a higher chance of the goblin beheading you than they would look up to a wizard.

Continuing on, he exchanged small talk with a worker and soon found himself in the public gallery of the Wizengamot chamber. The chamber itself was impressive. The floor was dark blue marble with gold rivers flowing through it, leading to the first tier. Ten chairs were in the first tier, one more intricately carved than the others. That was the chair for the Chief Warlock, while the other nine were for the Ministry workers – one for the Minister, one for their undersecretary, and the other seven were for the department heads. None of the ten seats held any votes, though the seat of the Chief Warlock was capable of vetoing any legislation or votes. Each seat had the Ministry seal on it.

Above the first tier were four more tiers, three holding twenty-five seats and the fourth holding twenty-six. There were no partitions between the tiers, simply that they were raised to allow for the members at the back to see. Every seat had a crest on it that belonged to the House that held the seat at the time. The idea behind the fourth tier was so that there was never an even number, allowing for votes to pass through. Voldemort laughed internally at that – most of the time, votes were almost always stalled because a few didn't vote, leaving an equal number.

The roof was the most impressive. Like the floor, it was a dark blue marble, but the decorations made it stand out. It was filled with silver stars that moved and flashed, and in the centre was a golden M with a Phoenix and a Dragon behind it. The Phoenix flapped its wings while the Dragon looked around menacingly. The seal had always impressed Voldemort. It was well designed and was meant to show the strength and power that the Ministry held.

Voldemort looked away from the roof as the members of the Wizengamot filed in. Most of the members were wearing plum coloured robes with the Ministry seal on their left breast. Underneath was their house crest, either in gold or silver. Voldemort knew that those with the gold crests were the heads of the Houses, while those with silver were representatives of the Head. This was mostly due to the head of the family being underage or being unable to make it.

Voldemort watched as the Minister and his toad – Undersecretary walked in. Unlike the others, their robes were black trimmed with gold, with only the crest of the Ministry on their left breast. The Minister was the only Ministry member who was expected to be at all Wizengamot meetings unless there was a legitimate reason why he couldn't. All other Ministry members either needed an agenda or were invited to attend.

Voldemort looked around the room at the members. He spied Lucius talking with the Minister, Nott, Crabbe and Goyle were discussing something, which Voldemort knew from experience could be a proposition for a bill or could simply be what they had for dinner last night. Travers appeared to be observing the Wizengamot. Voldemort was both disappointed and angry that none had searched for him, but was distracted by the door opening and walking in was his rival.

Albus Dumbledore strode into the room, wearing midnight blue robes. Unlike his normal robes, there was nothing fancy or distracting about the robes he was wearing. There were only two things on his robes; the Ministry crest and a silver House Potter crest. Voldemort kept his face passive but knew this was something he would tell Harry. Not straight away, but one day.

Dumbledore sat down in the seat and nodded at a small man that Voldemort hadn't noticed walk into the room. "Hear ye, Hear ye. This fourth winter session of the Wizengamot is now in session. The doors will now be sealed." The doors shutting and hissing sealed them in the room, and Voldemort felt a magic bind fall on him. He knew that all members of the public were fully bound while the members of the Wizengamot were only allowed to cast coloured light to vote.

Dumbledore looked around the room. "Does anyone object to any motions passed from the third winter session?" No one spoke and Dumbledore nodded. "Very well. I call the fourth winter session now open for business." A cannon blast sounded in the room. "Scribe please begin with the first item."

The non-descript man stood up. "The first item on the agenda is the proposed tax increase and budget for the Ministry." Dumbledore nodded. "Who wishes to speak for this proposal?" Everyone's attention shifted to the Minister who had stood up.

Voldemort stopped listening and looked around the room, having no desire to listen to how the budget for the DMLE would decrease but the budget for the Minister's office would increase, nor how that the Ministry had no further real developments or problems.

Likewise, he had no interest when a motion was carried to increase the tax for the Muggleborn by 5%, halfbloods by 2% and purebloods to not increase at all for any transactions. He watched as the toad – Undersecretary put forward a motion to limit the movement of "half-breeds" as she worded it and was soundly defeated as they were already very limited.

Dumbledore eventually looked around the room and stood up. "This report I am presenting is on my behalf as the Headmaster of Hogwarts. It is with my pleasure that I announce that Gilderoy Lockhart will take on the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. I also will announce that the graduating Seventh year students all gained a total of 105 N.E.W.T scores, and the fifth year gained a total of 176 O.W.L scores."

Dumbledore sat down. "The floor will now be opened to discussion. Be there any members who wish to voice concerns?"

Everyone looked to the third tier as a member had stood up. "My son has just graduated from Hogwarts. One of the subjects that he studied for but didn't pass was potions. Could you explain this, as he achieved Outstanding's in all other subjects, yet only achieved Poor in potions?"

Voldemort saw a flicker of surprise flash across Dumbledore's face before it settled into the serene look that he normally showed. "It is possible that he simply didn't study enough. Potions is a very difficult subject."

"That is true" the member said. "However, only one person passed potions this year, and they scraped an Acceptable. Why is it a class of fifteen only had one person pass potions at N.E.W.T level?" murmurs broke out around the room as that revelation broke out.

Dumbledore smiled. "Severus Snape has my full confidence. He is a renowned Potions Master"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean he can teach, nor should he" the member sat down as the whispering increased just a little. Dumbledore stood up. "Severus is a competent teacher. However, due to the concerns you have raised, I will have a discussion with him and perhaps help him to alter his teaching style."

This seemed to satisfy the members of the Wizengamot and Dumbledore sat down. "Now, any further business?"

Parkinson stood up. "My daughter sent me a rather unusual letter recently. She claimed that Harry Potter was involved in an incident in the third corridor and was hospitalized. Perhaps Dumbledore you could elaborate on these rumours and explain what has happened." Everyone turned to Dumbledore who looked surprised.

"Member Parkinson, your daughter is correct, Harry Potter was hospitalized." Noise broke out and Dumbledore had to send a cannon blast out to silence them. "However, there was nothing sinister that happened, just a teaching exercise that went wrong. He had fully recovered by the end of the day, but as you all know, Madam Pomfrey wasn't going to let him out of her care easily."

This sent titters through the room, all of the members having either spent time in her care or had friends who had. Parkinson sat down and Dumbledore looked around. "Any other concerns?" No one stood up. "Very well. This fourth winter session has now concluded. The next session will be the first summer session, to which all members are invited." He tapped his wand on the banister and the doors unsealed, and Voldemort felt his magic return.

Voldemort stepped out of the visitor's entrance into the sun and sighed. It didn't surprise him that Dumbledore would cover up what had happened at the end of term, pulling it off as a teaching exercise would dispel most rumours and make the others unbelievable. The wizarding world liked its comfortableness and hated anything out of the ordinary. Telling them that Voldemort had tried to return would result in him being discredited and thrown out the Ministry, and Dumbledore wouldn't allow that.

Voldemort knew that Dumbledore knew he wasn't dead, simply waiting to return. For Dumbledore, he wouldn't risk being removed from his positions of power before Voldemort would return. To be able to combat the Dark Lord, he would need the power to be able to stop him from taking over the Ministry.

Voldemort apparated away from the Ministry, appearing near Hogsmeade. He had two days before the students would head home, and he intended to make sure that he could see if Harry wanted to talk.

He also had to decide where to go from here. It all depended on how easily he could get the boy, and the girl, on his side. Being able to explain everything to them would, hopefully, be able to convince them. Plus, he needed to get his body back.

Then there was the matter of Severus. Back then, he had appeared to be a loyal Death Eater, and as such he was chosen to be one of Voldemort's spy within the Order of the Phoenix. Yet, he had never fully trusted him. He had, after all, been in deep with Dumbledore's group, and had an obsession with Lily Potter that had creeped even Voldemort out. He had watched him over the year to determine where Severus' loyalties laid. He wasn't sure that the loyalties laid with him, however he could tell that Severus hated the boy. Probably because of his relation to James.

_Harry, Hogwarts_

Harry had been released for the final feast, even though he was fine days ago. He walked out and suddenly found himself with a face of brown hair wrapped around him. He stiffened slightly before realising it was only Hermione.

"Harry, oh my gosh! You're ok! Did you stop him? Did Dumbledore get there in time to stop him? We met him on the stairs, he was rushing, and …"

"Hermione, give him a break! He can't answer your questions if you don't allow him!" Harry turned to find his best friend Ron stood there, grinning. Harry grinned back. He turned to Hermione "Yes, I'm fine. I didn't stop him; Dumbledore did I think." If was a white lie, he knew, but Voldemort hadn't gotten the stone so he wasn't completely wrong.

Hermione smiled and they turned to head to the feast.

It was the next morning, when coming down the stairs with his trunk that Harry found Hermione sat on the couch waiting for him. "Hey, Hermione, do you have a red envelope?" Hermione looked up from the book she was reading and raised an eyebrow. "Red envelope? You mean like the ones that are used for a Howler?"

Harry stared at her blankly. "I have no idea what a Howler is, but if they're red then yes." Hermione rolled her eyes but reached into her bag and pulled one out. "Here you go. Who do you need to send a Howler to?"

"No one, I just need to send something and I need a red envelope for it." Hermione gave him a searching look but nodded, turning back to the book she was reading. Harry noticed it was a book on defensive spells. "Why are you reading that? It's not a course book."

She didn't even look up "Harry, we just got involved in a fight against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. We need to know more spells if we're going to be dragged into this." Harry nodded.

_Voldemort, Hogsmeade_

Voldemort stood disillusioned in Hogsmeade Station, watching the students from Hogwarts disembark from the carriages and head into the station. It had been a long time, but Voldemort could remember the atmosphere being very similar when he was a student. Granted, he had hated it every time he had to go back to the hellhole, but the atmosphere of tired but excited kids would never change.

His eyes drifted to the latest carriage to arrive, from which Harry disembarked. Voldemort watched as he pulled his trunk out and stood to the side, allowing Ron to exit. Voldemort was unsure about his loyalties; the Weasley family was notoriously Dumbledore supporters. The next occupant to disembark was Hermione, and a small smile crept onto Voldemort's face.

Voldemort watched as Harry lagged behind the other two who were in a debate and slid a red envelope under the stone. He waited until all the students had passed through before walking over and pulling the envelope out.

He had no doubts that Dumbledore wouldn't have told the boy about the prophecy, more likely making some excuse. Dumbledore loved to preach forgiveness and peace, and so it didn't surprise him that the boy had no training nor knew of the prophecy. His carrot that he had dangled had obviously caught the boy's attention.

_Harry, Privet Drive_

Harry limped along the path into the park, looking for some respite for a few hours. He had some chores to complete but knew that he just had to get away for a bit, accepting that he would pay the price later. He tried not to let the pain bring tears but it was difficult. He collapsed under a tree and laid there, not noticing a man walking over.

He noticed when the man had crouched in front of him, and waves of coolness passed through his body. The aches and pains dulled and disappeared and he felt his ribs crack back into place. He looked up into a face of a man he didn't recognise.

He was young, handsome looking with long dark black hair and dark eyes. He appeared to be no older than 20. "Hello Harry. Told you I would seek you out."

Harry's eyes widened. "Voldemort?" The man nodded and held out his hand. Harry looked at his hand for a few seconds before grabbing it, allowing Voldemort to pull him up. They walked to a nearby bench and sat down. Voldemort waved his hand and a ripple in the air moved around them.

"Muggle-repelling ward" Voldemort said to Harry, who nodded having wondered what Voldemort had done. Watching him do magic wandlessly made Harry realise just how powerless he was compared to Voldemort and Dumbledore, the only other person he had seen do wandless magic.

"You probably have guessed why I'm here. I saw you place the envelope under the rock. After that, it was as simple as following you home. I couldn't immediately meet you, as Dumbledore has had someone watching you from when you came back until this morning."

Harry felt anger rise up inside him. "Does he know what they do to me? What they have done to me?" He looked at Voldemort. "Most likely, though without asking him I couldn't say and I have no intention of ever going and asking him."

Harry nodded, feeling betrayed. The man he had looked up to knew what the Dursleys were doing to him. It meant that he knew they beat him, starved him, and from the way his uncle was looking at him, probably knew that too. "He said that there were protections around the house."

Voldemort nodded. "Yes there are. Blood wards, considered borderline dark by the Ministry. While you are inside them, they charge and provide protection for your family and yourself while they're here. However, you only need to spend four hours every day within the wards to achieve that."

Harry stiffened at hearing that. "You mean; I could go elsewhere then Privet Drive? Away from them and I only have to come back to sleep here?" Voldemort nodded and Harry felt the anger inside him turn into a beast – a beast wanting vengeance. "How can you get in though? Isn't it meant to protect me from danger?"

Voldemort raised an eyebrow "I have no intention of harming you, Harry Potter. As the wards are designed to keep those with the intent of harming you or killing you out, except your family as they are what the wards are based around, I am able to pass through them. A flaw of them."

"I'm surprised that Dumbledore didn't learn of what happened in the chamber from your mind." Voldemort watched as the slight colour in Harry's face dropped. "He can read my mind?" Voldemort nodded "Yes. He is very good at passive Ligilimency, and regularly scans the student's minds. That's how he knows if you have done something wrong."

"So, he will know I know of the prophecy! He'll know that I've talked to you!" Harry yelled, jumping up and starting to pace. Voldemort waved his hand and Harry crashed back into the chair. "Calm yourself! You still wish to learn of the prophecy? The thing that 'made' me come after you?"

Harry nodded. He had come this far, and if everything Voldemort had told him was truthful, he wouldn't be led astray. Voldemort sat back.

"_The one with the power to defeat the Dark Lord approaches…Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…And the Dark Lord will mark him as equal, but he will have power that the Dark Lord knows not… And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…" _

Harry stared at him in growing horror. He leapt back up "Why are you just sitting there? Why are you not trying to kill me?"

Voldemort sighed and rolled his eyes, trying not to get frustrated. "Do you really think that prophecies are the be all, end all? Do you think that every prophecy that has ever been made is fulfilled? They are not. Just because the prophecy exists, does not mean it will ever happen. Besides, that one is a fake."

Harry just stared at him, prompting Voldemort to continue. "You see, that prophecy was 'made' by a young woman who wished to teach at Hogwarts as the Divination Teacher. A bit of memory manipulation, and when she was sat in an interview with Albus Dumbledore, it caused her to have a seizure and spout out what I told her to say. I also made sure to have a Death Eater whose loyalty I considered questionable to 'hear' the prophecy and report it back to me."

Harry continued to stare at him. "But…what?"

Voldemort chuckled, and it sent a shiver of fear down Harry's spine. It was not a nice laugh, but more cold and sinister. "Yes. I made a fake prophecy to ensure that people didn't realise that any of them could kill me. Dumbledore heard it and took it for face value. He believes that you, due to me attacking your family and leaving you with that scar, are the destined one from the prophecy."

"So, to ensure that this prophecy would 'begin', I made a plan. Thanks to the work of two of my most loyal spies and supporters, I was able to engineer the three confrontations between the Potters and the Longbottom's. One of the spies also discovered an obscure spell that would create a scar and give the scar the magical signature of a piece of soul. From there, they made sure that the secret keepers were both Death Eaters so that they would give me the locations."

Voldemort looked at Harry. "You see; I could have taken the Ministry. I could have taken over the wizarding world, and I could have taken the muggle world. But someone would have worked out what I did to stay immortal. Someone would have found a way to kill me. I wanted to prevent that, so I engineered my death, allowing the wizarding world to celebrate, letting them think they're safe, while some of my most loyal Death Eaters, the ones who knew what my real plans were, have been working behind the scenes – gaining influence, gaining allies, setting it all so that when I make my return, when the wizarding population realised that I couldn't die and not even the prophesised one could defeat me, I would be able to take control of the world and no one would try to stop me."

Harry just sat there, everything Voldemort was saying going through his head. "Who were your spies? The ones who set my parents up to die?"

Voldemort looked at him. "Haven't you worked it out yet? The spies were your parents."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Nah, still don't own Harry Potter.

A/N: Heads up, this chapter is over 8000 words long! Voldemort has a bit of explaining to do though.

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Chapter 2 – Revelations

Harry sat there staring at Voldemort, his mind unable to comprehend what he had just been told. Voldemort, to his credit, stayed silent, watching Harry as he processed what he had said. Harry couldn't say how long it was before he said anything.

"How? You killed them! How could you have them as spies when you killed them?"

Voldemort nodded. "That's a good question. To be able to answer that, I'll need to backtrack a bit." He shifted on the seat and settled into a more comfortable position, staring out across the park. "1945. I came home from Hogwart's for the last time to discover that the muggles had finished their war with the detonation of nuclear armaments. All around, I found that the muggles were _celebrating_. They had killed over 200,000 people with just two bombs, and they were celebrating. By that point, I was already set to bring down the magical world and change it to how Salazar Slytherin wished. Don't get me wrong, I hate muggles. They are violent, dangerous and petty creatures that take pleasure in hurting people. But when I saw that, I realised that the magical world had it wrong."

"Gellert Grindelwald had the right idea. The magical population needed to control the muggles, limit what they could do and use our magic to enforce our will. But he tried too big, too fast. So I decided to start small. Take over magical Britain, for no other reason than most of the magicals are lazy."

Harry nodded; from the little time he had spent in the magical world, he had worked out that they were all lazy and wanted others to do the work for them. Nothing new or exciting happened in magical Britain.

"However, I was merely one wizard. You cannot take over with just one. So, I needed followers. But who to use? The answer came to me: The Purebloods. In the magical world, the purebloods hold all the monopoly's. They hold the major businesses, have the most gold, and have the most people and influence in the Wizengamot. So, to take this country, I needed their gold, their influence and their power. How to get them on my side? Claim that I hate muggles and muggleborns, that they are a threat. It wasn't that big of a lie to tell. They flocked to me, and with their gold, with their influence and power, I nearly took the Ministry and the wizarding world."

"What does this have to do with my parents?" Harry said.

Voldemort fixed him with a glare. "Interrupt me again and you'll see why I was really feared." Harry leant back and nodded.

"So, while I was spouting about the 'mudbloods' and how they were a corruption, I wasn't fully saying what I truly wanted – to bring down the current ways of life in both the magical world and the muggle world and to create something new. Most of those flocking purebloods believed that, when I won, I would allow them to rule over everyone."

He chuckled "They couldn't be more wrong. However, a few either worked out what I truly desired, or I believed I could share my true vision with them. The few I could include your parents, Lucius Malfoy, and Bellatrix Lestrange."

"Now" he said, turning to look at Harry "your parents. To make sense of why they joined my ranks, I need to give you some of their history. Like I have said, my goal was to gain power over everyone. Now, this meant that I obviously would need allies, allies that I knew shared my vision of removing the muggles from their positions of power and having them serve underneath us, as well as removing the power from the magical people."

"Your mother came to Hogwarts with a dream, a dream to make a new life for herself. You see, she was abused by her parents and family. They saw her as a freak, a creature that weird things happened around. She told me that when she arrived at Hogwarts, she had four broken ribs and broken fingers, as well as a concussion because her father had thrown her down the stairs and her mother had hit her with her handbag."

Harry just stared horrified at Voldemort. "So, my Aunt is treating me…"

Voldemort nodded "Exactly how she, and her parents, had treated your mother. And when she arrived at Hogwarts, it took all of two days before she realised that she had left one abusive environment, and entered another. No one seemed to like her or just wanted to use her."

"And then, in her second holidays, I sent a squad of Death Eaters to her suburb. One of my Death Eaters, who already knew my vision, found a young girl who was suffering from terrible wounds and healed her. He later told me that he looked into her eyes and saw what he described as 'a kindred spirit. This is someone who would fight for this vision.' And so he brought not only her, but the whole family. And when I met her, and asked what happened, she broke down."

"I was the first person to actually ask what had happened to her. No one else had. And when she was done, I realised here was someone I could one day rely on. So I told her. When I was done, I offered her a place by my side. She nodded and offered to take my mark. She decided to act as a spy for me, telling me what happened in the castle, causing chaos and infiltrating the 'light' side."

"James, on the other hand, was simply a very disillusioned person. He had no faith in the magical world, who were lazy and did nothing, nor did he have faith in the muggle world, who he also saw as violent. When Lily told him everything that they had done, to her and in general, he also realised that my vision for the world would make it a better place. The correct people in power. So, a summer later, he also took the mark and became a spy."

"The only person who knew that they were Death Eaters was Lucius, and he swore an oath to never reveal it unless given permission by me. When Dumbledore offered them a position within the Order of the Phoenix, they joined. Dumbledore was right, there was a spy within the Order, but I had several, instead of just the one which he believed. I had Lily, James, Peter, Severus and two others."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "So that's why my parents joined you. But how did you engineer the prophecy?"

Voldemort smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes. "The only wizard whose power matched mine was Dumbledore. I had already taken steps to prevent my soul departing this world when I died, allowing me to return. However, your parents made a suggestion to increase the terror and show the people that I couldn't be killed."

"So, they forged a prophecy and I inserted it into the mind of a potential seer. When they visited the school to talk to McGonagall, one of them visited the then Divination teacher and convinced them that they should retire. I planted hints to Severus to visit the Hog's Head and set it up so that when this potential sat in the Hog's head with Dumbledore, she would spout this fake 'prophecy'."

"In the meantime, I limited my outings, and made sure that very few would be fitting to this prophecy. Your parents realised that to ensure the security of the prophecy, they volunteered themselves to be a pair that had thrice defied me. Meetings were set and we had particularly spectacular battles, and thus when you were born they fit the criteria. Of course, Lucius pointed out that to make it even more confusing, a second pair should be chosen as well. Alice and Frank Longbottom were chosen."

"Lily and James, along with Severus and Peter, manipulated them into confrontations with them and thus they also had thrice defied me. To ensure they had a child, Lily created a potion that would ensure that Alice and herself would fall pregnant and that the due date would be at the end of July."

"Dumbledore, desperate for a way to finish the war with minimal loss of life, clung to the prophecy like a lifeline. So, when they had the babies he hid them behind the Fidelius charm. James had access to the Black library, thanks to Sirius Black. So, during the time he was hidden, he had found a charm that would create a 'presence' behind a scar, thus 'marking you as my equal'. A few hints, dissent spread among the Marauders made Peter the secret keeper. While James and Lily knew that Peter was the spy, Peter did not know that they were mine as well."

"So, everything was in place. Peter came to me and gave me the location, and I arrived. We engineered a fight and they died for their beliefs. Next came the hardest part. Once I had cast the charm, I placed a protection shield on you and essentially blew myself up. Everyone believed I was dead."

"James and Lily sacrificed themselves so that, one day, you would be able to live in a world that I had crafted. They hoped that I would have you by my side, as my protégé and right hand."

Harry looked over the park, taking everything in. He turned to look at Voldemort "Why would you have me by your side?"

Voldemort smiled "Because, what has any of them ever done for you? You 'defeated' the most powerful Dark Lord to come from Britain to be left with muggles. Muggles who have abused you your whole life. Muggles who knew of magic and didn't care, they were happy to see you get abused. And when you do come back, the moment you do something wrong they all turn on you. Ostracise you. None of them have ever done anything for you."

"What I can give you though is respect. Power. I can teach you magic that others won't want you to learn. And when I take over the world, they will realise that their 'saviour', the one they abandoned, the one they bullied, has had enough and has stood up for himself."

He chuckled "Also just some personal revenge. What do you say? Will you join me?"

Harry sat there looking at the sunset, thinking over everything Voldemort had told him. Voldemort had told him about his parents, the prophecy, why he was targeted. It seemed so unlikely, but considering that no one else had told him anything. He turned to Voldemort "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

Voldemort waved his hand and a round bowl appeared. The inside of the bowl was glowing and the liquid inside seemed to almost be like a shimmery soup. "What is this?"

"A pensive. More specifically, it's the Potter pensive." He pointed to a crest that Harry realised was his family's. "It is designed to only work for a member of the Potter family, including those that marry in. Your parents left it with me knowing that one day I would find you. They left a memory for you."

Harry looked at the pensive then back at Voldemort who gestured that he put his head in. As soon as Harry's nose touched the liquid he felt his feet leave the ground and he plunged headfirst, falling so fast he was already landing before he could grasp what was happening. He looked up to find himself in a house.

The house had a warm, comforting feel, and was clearly magical. There were potions bubbling on the boiler and items whizzed around the house with no apparent influence on them. But as he looked around, he saw that one of the potions was a vile looking colour, and several of the books were on topics like necromancy, torture and one on soul magic. He turned and stopped at the sight of two people sat in chairs.

The one in the left chair had bright red hair and the same eyes that looked at him in the mirror. She had a soft smile but her eyes had a sharpness to them. The one in the right chair had messy black hair and hazel eyes, but where her smile was soft his was sharper. Harry's gaze fell back to his mum when she started speaking.

"Harry. My beautiful baby. Tom has clearly found you and explained a few things to you, like who we really were and why he came after you. We just want you to know that every word of it is true. We are sorry for leaving you behind, but for this world to be remade, sacrifices had to be made."

"Besides" Harry's attention shifted to James "You are a powerful young wizard. I mean, you were levitating items around the house before you were one. Dumbledore will keep you from knowing about your family history and what you can do because it's not in his 'greater good'."

"Don't get me wrong Harry, Dumbledore is not evil. It's just he thinks the world should stay as it is. But if we don't evolve, if we don't change the world then wizard kind will die. My advice to you, Harry, is to do what you think is right. If that is working with Tom, or working against Tom, or not at all, it is up to you. Don't let anyone play you."

Harry felt himself fly back up through the liquid and found himself back on the bench. Everything his mum and dad had said was almost moot, as he had made his mind up before he had entered. He turned to look at Voldemort. "I'll help you. But I won't be a servant."

Voldemort chuckled "So like your parents. Don't worry – those I shared my vision with are my equals."

He stood up "Now, let us pay a visit to your dear beloved 'relatives'. Then, we have one more stop to make."

_Vernon, Dursley Residence_

Vernon got out of his company car and smiled. Today had been a good day. He had yelled at seven different employees, made some sales, yelled at more people, gotten home in a good time and had beaten the freak. He was hoping that the freak had forgotten to do something, so that way he could beat him some more. He had missed beating the boy.

He walked through the door to find the smell of dinner missing. "Petunia, darling, I'm home!" he watched as Petunia walked through and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. "Has the boy forgotten to put the food on or have you gotten him doing something he's taking too long to do?"

Petunia frowned. "Neither – he's not here. He went out to get us some food and hasn't come back. That was around six hours ago."

Vernon frowned – it wasn't good that the boy hadn't come back. Not because he cared for the freak, no. It was because if anyone discovered that the boy was being beaten he would lose everything.

They both jumped as the doorbell rang. Vernon instantly moved towards the door, knowing it wasn't the boy. The boy knew the back door was open, as it wouldn't do if he had to go get something and couldn't get in or out of the house. He opened the door to find a young man stood there. "Yes, what do you want? I'm a bit busy at the moment."

The man smiled but said nothing. Before Vernon could shut the door, Petunia walked into the corridor and the man's eyes shifted to her. His smile widened. "Why hello Petunia. You look exactly as Lily described you."

It was funny to watch as the colour disappeared from Petunia and seemed to collect in Vernon. He had reached a purple colour before he yelled "FREAKS! I have told you, STAY AWAY FROM THIS HOUSE!" He slammed the door in Voldemort's face.

_Voldemort, Outside_

Voldemort turned and looked at Harry who was standing back and cowering. Voldemort sighed internally, knowing he would need to get the boy to face his fears. "Is he always like this?"

Harry's slight nod told him everything he needed to know. He pulled his wand out. "Wait. Won't you get in trouble for using that?"

Voldemort chuckled "No. This wand is a very specifically crafted wand. Its signature is hidden from detection and besides, the wards here are very good – they will hide any magic cast." With that, he flicked his wand at the door and it flew off its hinges, smashing into the kitchen door and shattering. Screams were heard inside the house as Voldemort stepped in, Harry on his heels.

Voldemort walked into the living room, immediately spotting the two muggles attempting to hide behind the couch. He rolled his eyes at the attempts that the whale was making to hide behind the couch and waved his hand, sending the couch flying. As the muggles were screaming, Voldemort conjured a chair for himself and sat in it, directing Harry to stand behind him to the right.

Voldemort could sense the boy was scared and that was part of the reason why he had placed him there. With himself in the way, the muggles wouldn't be able to get to Harry without going through him. With another wave of his hand, he had the muggles kneeling in front of them both.

"Now, I believe that we got off on the wrong foot. I'm here to talk to you about your nephew Harry. I, or someone I choose, will come and collect him every morning. He will return and be allowed to sleep here. You are not to threaten him or attempt to bully him. You will just have to deal with the knowledge of what he has done and not be able to tell anyone about it."

He lifted his wand and stopped when Dudley stumbled through the door. Before Dudley could do anything, he was wrapped up and thrown next to his parents. Voldemort pointed his wand towards them and then stopped. He turned the wand and held it to Harry. "Do you want to try?"

Harry looked surprised at the offer. "What? What do you mean?"

The slight eyebrow raise was the only change in Voldemort's expression. "Try some fun with them? They have hurt you and beat you. Do you want some revenge?"

Harry looked at the wand. He was silent for a bit before he looked up. "Won't I get in trouble with the Ministry? The wards and the restriction for underage sorcery and that?"

Voldemort rolled his eyes. "Has anything come through due to me blasting the door off?" he watched as realisation flashed across Harry's face. "Now, take the wand."

The Dursleys watched as Harry grabbed the wand and flinched when sparks flew out the end. Harry just stared at them and then turned to Voldemort. "I don't know anything."

Voldemort chuckled "Yes you do. Standard spells can be easily used for sinister purposes. Use your imagination. Perhaps start with an Expelliarmus, right next to his hand"

Harry turned and pointed his wand at his uncle. Voldemort watched fascinated as the uncle watched the wand moving towards him and started to piss himself. Harry put the wand against his hand. "_Expelliarmus"_

The uncle screamed as the spell, at point blank range, broke several bones in his hand. Harry quickly followed with a silencing spell (after Voldemort taught him) on his uncle before turning to his aunt and casting the body locker spell. As she stiffened out, Harry levitated her and lifted her to the roof, cancelling the charm and causing Petunia to fall face first into the coffee table. He lifted her up and dropped her a few more times before turning to Dudley. Voldemort watched as Harry started to transfigure body parts into needles and various other small parts.

Eventually Harry handed the wand back. He looked relieved but disturbed at the same time. Voldemort knew he would need to deal with Harry later and talk to him about what he had done. He waved his wand and healed the wounds Harry had caused. He leaned back in the seat.

"As you can probably tell, your nephew isn't quite happy with you. Of course, this isn't the end of it. _Crucio._"

Vernon screamed as he was hit by the torture curse. He thrashed around, his screams joining with Petunia's and Dudley whimpers. Harry couldn't deny that he got a small shiver of excitement up his spine from the magical output of the spell. Voldemort lifted the curse from Vernon who laid on the floor shuddering.

He lifted the wand again and watched as they all flinched, bringing a small smile to his face. He moved the wand in a complicated motion and the Dursleys glowed. When they stopped glowing, he turned to Dudley and performed another motion, causing Dudley to glow again.

"You won't tell anyone about what happened today. If you do… well if you want to know what will happen, I advise you do tell someone." He got up and banished the chair, turning and walked out with Harry following. He repaired the door and went to walk out. Before he did, he poked his head back in the door. "Oh, and enjoy your new bedroom Dundey."

"Dudley" Harry responded before he went bright red at correcting the Dark Lord. Voldemort turned and looked at him before continuing to walk. They reached the end of the street before Voldemort held his arm out. Harry took it and found himself feeling like he was being squeezed through a tube that was travelling at the speed of a bullet train. It wasn't long before the feeling disappeared and he found himself in a random street. He turned to Voldemort who nodded.

"Your 'relatives' are going to hate their lives from now on. Now, hopefully they haven't moved in the last ten years." He set off down the street with Harry following behind before stopping in front of a house.

The house was late Victorian style, but the cars outside indicated that the owners of the house were not exactly strapped for cash. The garden was immaculate as they walked up to the door and Voldemort knocked. A shout could be heard from inside as they patiently waited. The door opened and the twelve year old girl who answered stopped short just before she introduced herself. "Harry?"

"Hey Hermione. You won't believe what I've just found out." Hermione nodded before looking at Voldemort. "Hi. I'm Hermione Granger."

Voldemort dipped his head "Tom Riddle. Is Emma or Dan home?" Hermione nodded. "Just my mum at the moment." She turned around and yelled back into the house where a shout back could be heard. "Would you like to come in?" Voldemort nodded and walked in, removing the heavy cloak and placing it on the rack near the door. Harry followed and brushed his shoes, looking up to find his best friend giving him a bone-crushing hug.

"You look like you haven't eaten for ages! Have your relatives been looking after you?" Harry could see the concern and anger in her eyes at the thought that his relatives would actually hurt him in any way and gave her a small smile. "Not quite, though they probably will now thanks to Tom." Hermione turned back to Voldemort just as Emma walked in. Harry instantly could see that Hermione had inherited the hair from her mother.

"Sorry about that, I was just dea…." Emma froze as soon as her eyes locked onto Voldemort. Voldemort gave her a small smile. "Hello Emma. It's been a while. You look fantastic."

Emma slowly walked over and reached out, touching her hand to Tom's face. She started to chuckle "You did it. It actually worked." Voldemort nodded as Emma sat down. Hermione just looked between the two of them and turned to Harry. "Harry? Who is this?"

Harry gestured at Voldemort. "Hermione, this is the Dark Lord, Lord Voldemort. Lord Voldemort, my friend Hermione." Hermione's eyes widened and she jumped up, scrambling away from Voldemort. Harry jumped up and caught her. "Let me go!"

Harry didn't let go, instead keeping his grip on her. Hermione kept struggling but froze at what Harry said next. "Hermione! You do realize that the Dark Lord is sat here not attacking us?"

Hermione looked up into the red eyes which were studying her. Her brain put together what she was seeing with what Harry had told her. She sat back down and Harry released her. "Ok. Why is the Dark Lord sitting in our lounge?"

Voldemort turned to Emma. "You haven't told her?" Harry and Hermione turned to look at Emma who shook her head. "It's been too dangerous. We had no way to protect ourselves, or her."

"Mum? What are you on about?"

Emma turned to look at Hermione. "Hermione … I have a confession to make. Dan and I … we're not your parents."

Hermione's face went stark white and she leaned into Harry. "What?"

Emma looked concerned "Please, listen to what I have to say. We're not your parents, but I am related to you. To explain that though, I have to go back a way."

"Whenever you have asked about your grandparents, I have always brushed you off in a sense, never really explaining who they are to you. The reason for that is because my parents were magical. I was born to two purebloods, Druella Rosier and Cygnus Black. Before me, they had three daughters already. While mother was carrying me, a disgruntled wizard that worked for father, and this man was a devout follower of the light, threw a curse at my mother and sisters. My mother was hit with the curse and my father took her to St Mungo's."

"The healers told my parents that they had no idea how the curse would affect me since their scans didn't show anything. My parents were forced to wait until I was born. The birth was very difficult, and nearly killed my mother. It took many hours but eventually I was born."

Emma looked up at Hermione. "When the healers tested me, they told my parents that the curse had effectively shredded my magical core, leaving me a squib. Not only that, it had left me unable to have children."

She reached over and grabbed Hermione's hand, gently rubbing it. Both had tears running down their cheeks. "My parents loved me. They treated me like my sisters because they knew that it was the fault of the light I had no magic. Most often, squibs are hidden away in the muggle world because they have no magic and they could be used as hostages against other pureblood families."

"I was close to my sisters, but I was closest to my oldest sister, Trix." She chuckled "I was the only one who she would allow to call her that. Anyone else who tried and she would either curse or hit them. As she got older, the curses got more and more dangerous. I though could call her that. We were very close, and we would tell each other our secrets and desires."

Emma picked up her tea. "When she went off to Hogwarts, I didn't want her to go. By then, I knew why I had no magic. My parents thought I was upset because I wouldn't get to go to Hogwarts. Trix though knew why I was upset – I didn't want her going near any Light supporters. They had injured me and I didn't want her hurt. I was five at the time."

"As we grew up, Trix would always send me letters. The letters I found were getting darker and darker, and she was singing the praises of Tom here. Narcissa was doing the same and my parents were integrating themselves with the Death Eaters."

"I had approached my parents and told them I wanted to go to muggle school. I needed to learn, and I could be of more use by having a muggle education and working in the muggle world than staying in the magical world. My parents understood my logic and sent me off. I spent my years at school and got good grades, getting into uni and becoming a dentist. I met Dan there and when I told him my history he didn't run. He chose to stay at my side."

"Not long after I had started as a dentist, Trix turned up at my house. By this point she was feared throughout magical Britain, but to me she was still the sister I looked up too. She was telling me about the Dark Lord and everything she had done for him. I then turned to her and asked how I could help."

Emma seemed to be in another world at this point, looking off into the distance. "She simply asked me what I could possibly bring. She knew I was talented, but I had no magic so she didn't know what value I would have to the Dark Lord. I explained to her about how Dan was in the British armed forces, and had a lot of contacts there and in the government. I also knew quite a few people."

"I also had plans for the money I earned. Through Dan, I had set up a vault at Gringotts. The goblins were going to take some of my salary and invest it. One thing my parents had taught me was that the goblins could be valuable allies, and the thing they value most is gold. Since I was happy to provide it, and give them a decent fee for their time, they were happy to invest." She turned to Voldemort. "At the moment, that account is sitting on several million pounds. That money is free for you to use."

Emma turned back to Hermione. "In Feb of 1979, Trix turned up at my house. She was going through a range of emotions – elation, joy, fear, anger. She told me that she was pregnant. I was overjoyed for her. I asked how her husband felt about it and she laughed. It turned out that Rodolphus was sterile. Trix wanted a child, so she went out for a night on the town. She had no idea who the father was but that didn't matter to her."

"To protect the baby, Bellatrix and Tom would cast glamour's so that her bump was hidden. At this point, Trix's reputation was such that when most people saw her, they ran. She didn't want the light to know she was having a baby. On September 19th, 1979, Trix gave birth, here in this house, to a beautiful baby girl."

Harry heard Hermione gasp and looked at her. He could almost hear the gears running in her head as she put the pieces together. "The baby was me, wasn't it?"

Emma nodded. "Yes. This place was a sanctuary for Trix, or Bellatrix Lestrange as she was mostly known. No one on the side of the light, and very few on the dark, knew of me, so Trix knew she could come here to have you."

Harry turned to look at Hermione who had gone white at learning that she was the daughter of one of the most feared dark witches. She wasn't running and screaming though. He grabbed her hand and she gripped it back. "How come I didn't know this?"

Emma looked up. "On July 31st, 1981, Tom was 'defeated' by Harry here. Trix knew that she would be hunted by the Ministry, and knew that if you were found, it was entirely possible that you would have your mind wiped or possibly even be killed. Another baby suffered that fate, though apparently it was due to an 'allergy' the baby had."

"Since no one knew of me, on August 1st, Trix turned up. It was horrible. My sister, my idol, was crying. Not for Tom, not for herself, but for you. She begged me to keep you and raise you as my own child. She knew Tom would come back one day, and wanted to make sure you were safe. She cast a complex charm on you, to suppress memories and certain aspects of your personality, as you were very much like her. The charm could be lifted by her or by Tom, as she knew it was likely that she might be killed or captured."

Hermione turned to look at Voldemort who was watching them. "What happened to her?"

"She went after one of Dumbledore's most loyal supporters, as their child was the other child that fit into the prophecy. She was captured along with her husband, his brother and a loyal supporter with links to the then Head of the DMLE. She proclaimed her loyalty and was sentenced to life in Azkaban where she currently resides. How I will get her out, I am not sure yet."

Voldemort pulled his wand out, rolling it in between his fingers. "Now, I know how to undo the charm. It will cause you to see memories that have been blocked. This charm would have served another purpose as well. Your parents Harry and your mother Hermione did bring you to my Headquarters. The two of you were close."

He focused his gaze on Hermione. "You always liked the gore and the screams, covering yourself in the blood of whoever we had at the time. You seemed to think it was a game. Your mother suppressed your bloodthirsty tendencies, so much so you became quite the bookworm, with no desire to do anything wrong."

He looked at Harry. "For you, they knew that Dumbledore would take you and couldn't risk him seeing anything important. They merely blocked your memories and did the same, though it made you quite meek."

He stood up. "if you desire, I can cast the charm and unblock those memories. I have one condition to you both – you will stand by my side as my protégés and lieutenants."

Harry turned to Hermione and could see that she was tempted but holding back. "Why?"

Voldemort raised an eyebrow. "To protect our way of life. To protect ourselves. To prevent the destruction of this world by the corruption of those who delude themselves with being 'light' and from the muggles who wish to pillage and burn this world to the ground. I can show you power and give you the ability to shape this world how you want it."

He could see Hermione was indecisive. "You have been bullied all this time by the other muggle kids. Their parents see you as an annoying brat. You have then come into a world where those with the power have decided you are an annoying creature that doesn't deserve any power or place in their 'perfect' society. You will be ridiculed and spat down on, made to marry some pathetic pureblood just so you can move beyond the base level of maintenance." He could see Hermione was leaning his way. "With me, you can remove those obstacles and change this world."

She looked up at him. "Will we have to kill people?" and Voldemort laughed. It sent chills down their spines.

"Oh yes. They will wish to rise against us, to keep the status quo. We will have to teach them to fear us and that we have the power."

He lifted his wand. "Prepare yourselves." Harry and Hermione looked at each other as he twisted his wand in a complicated pattern and then everything went black.

_Hermione_

She had no idea how long she floated there before she opened her eyes to find she was drifting in nothing. There was no light but she could see herself, but when she moved her hand it was like she left copies behind. She didn't know when but she noticed that it seemed like she was falling before light exploded around her. When she blinked, she found herself in a baby's room. She turned to find a woman stood bent over a crib.

The woman was tall, with black curly hair that seemed to go everywhere. Her eyes were so brown they were almost black and a thin mouth that seemed to be full of sharp teeth. Hermione watched as the woman stood up straight, holding onto a baby. Hermione had seen enough baby photos to realise that this baby was her.

"Is baby happy to see mama?" the woman whispered. Baby Hermione gurgled and grabbed some of Bellatrix's hair, pulling on it. Bellatrix laughed. "Mama had so much fun today. We went on a raid. You remember what a raid is?"

"Gah!" Baby Hermione said and both Hermione and Bellatrix chuckled. "Well, there were many people there, all people who deserved the pain." She looked up and pulled her wand out, sending a curse that exploded the wall. A eep followed by a man falling to the ground where he slid across the floor towards where Bellatrix had summoned him.

"Wormtail! Spying on me, are you? _CRUCIO!"_ Hermione watched as this 'Wormtail' started to scream. As he thrashed about the floor, baby Hermione sat watching. Hermione watched as baby Hermione started to clap and squeal happily.

When Bellatrix lifted the curse, Wormtail kept twitching with blood running from his mouth. "Get out of here you pathetic creature!" Bellatrix then aimed a kick at him, missing the second time as he scurried out as quickly as he could. She turned back to baby Hermione. "Now, the raid started …."

Hermione felt herself being pulled back as Bellatrix's voice faded before she found herself in what looked like a dungeon. She heard moaning coming from what appeared to be a body on a slab. Blood dripped down the fingers of the hand that was backwards on the arm. Hermione looked over to see herself, around the same age, on the table. Baby Hermione was covered in blood and appeared to be having the time of her life.

Bellatrix walked in and made her way over to a gurney, grabbing a thin blade. She walked over, humming as she started to carve into the screaming thing on the slab. Hermione recognised the tune that Bellatrix was humming as 'rock a bye baby'. Baby Hermione rocked from side to side, giggling when Bellatrix walked over and tickled her, covering her in blood.

The scene went black and reformed and Hermione recognised the house she lived in. She watched as Emma walked in with food. As she went to sit down, the door exploded and Emma grabbed it. Hermione watched as two redhead's walked in. She didn't recognise who they were but realised that they had to be related to the Weasley family.

"Well, well, well. Who do we have here?" Red one said. Emma was holding Hermione behind her as she tried to back out the door. Red two cast a spell and Emma dived behind the chair. "Imagine our surprise when we discover that Bellatrix not only has a daughter, she leaves her with a muggle. Well, Dumbledore will want her. Might train her up to fight her own mother." The two laughed and cast what Hermione recognised as a Petrificus Totalus and grabbed baby Hermione who was crying. As they straightened up the front wall exploded.

The two red's turned to find Bellatrix standing in the rubble. It was at that moment that Hermione realised why when people whispered of Bellatrix they always said she was as terrifying as Voldemort. Power seemed to roll from her and the atmosphere of the room seemed to be almost electrified. Her eyes were filled with rage and power and she had a snarl that made Snape look like he smiled instead of snarling.

It was no surprise why people would run instead of fight her.

She didn't even say anything, instead opting to cast a spell that Hermione didn't recognise. Red one was thrown into the wall and slid down. Red two dropped baby Hermione on the floor as he sent a spell at Bellatrix who was slowly walking into the room. Bellatrix batted the spell away with her wand and started to throw spells at red two who threw himself to the side. Bellatrix disappeared and reappeared next to him, casting a bright green spell at him, causing him to slump to the ground. She turned towards red one and cast a sickly purple spell. Hermione watched as blood started to trickle out of red one, slowly increasing. It wasn't long before he slumped down and Hermione realised he had died.

Bellatrix meanwhile had gone over to Emma and waved her hand, releasing her from the Petrificus. She then ran over to where Hermione had been dropped. She quickly picked her up and held her close. Baby Hermione stopped crying and cuddled close to Bellatrix.

Hermione was pulled back again before she heard Bellatrix say anything before it reformed in the kitchen. Bellatrix was sat at the table with a glass in her hand and baby Hermione was sat on the floor playing with toys.

"So, what happened?" Emma said, sitting down opposite Bellatrix. She didn't immediately reply, keeping her gaze on Hermione. "The Dark Lord went around to the Potters and started the plan. Lily and James are dead and Voldemort has disappeared. Dumbledore sent around Hagrid of all people to collect baby Harry and has taken him somewhere."

Emma sipped her coffee "Will Dumbledore train him up to be a weapon?"

Bellatrix snorted "No. He will preach that the hard times are over, and that the Dark Lord is gone. He will keep all the Death Eaters alive to give them a second chance." She growled. "Most will turn on the Dark Lord to keep their castles and power. Lucius is the only one I can accept as the Dark Lord commanded him too. But I won't. Dumbledore will have me sent to Azkaban, to make me repent and see the path I have taken is wrong. But I won't."

She turned to look at Emma and Hermione watched in awe at the power and resolve that radiated from the woman, the fire that was in her eyes. It was at that moment that Hermione believed what Voldemort and Emma had told her – it was like looking at a mirror image of herself, minus the crazed look in her eyes.

"I want you to promise me Emma – protect Hermione. Don't tell her the truth, not until the Dark Lord comes back. It won't be safe for her if she knows, not before. If I'm not out before then, tell her then. Tom will release the block for her." She grabbed Emma's hands. "Promise me."

Emma looked into Bellatrix's eyes. "I will Trix. I'll keep her safe."

Bellatrix nodded and then got up, walked around the table and crouched in front of Hermione. A single tear rolled from the corner of her eye as she traced the edge of baby Hermione's face. Baby Hermione reached out and grabbed some of Bellatrix's hair and gently tugged on it.

Hermione felt herself start to cry as she watched Bellatrix pull her wand out and aim it at baby Hermione's face. The tip of the wand was shaking as Bellatrix was trying not to cry. "Forgive me baby" She twisted her wand a few turns as she muttered a phrase that Hermione didn't catch. She watched as baby Hermione went very still and her eyes dulled. When Bellatrix was done, baby Hermione's eyes closed and she slumped forward, Bellatrix catching her easily. She held her close before handing her back over to Emma.

"Keep her safe. I don't know when I'll be back."

Emma smiled and hugged baby Hermione close. "I'll be waiting – and so will she." She hesitated, not knowing what to say and Bellatrix nodded. "I know. Bye Emma."

Emma sniffed. "Bye Trix."

Bellatrix's eyes drifted to baby Hermione. She took a deep breath and turned, walking out the door. Emma walked to the door and watched her, but Bellatrix never looked back. At the end of the garden, she disappeared with a slight crack. Emma stood in the doorway, watching until she felt baby Hermione start to stir. She stepped back inside and closed the door.

_Granger family room_

Hermione opened her eyes and found bright green ones looking at hers. She sat up and found Emma and Voldemort looking at her (one with concern, the other with curiousity). She turned to Emma. "So, you're my …"

"Aunt" Emma said. "We look similar enough that I knew we could get away with it. Dan was able to get the muggle records changed so that you were our daughter, and Lucius got the magical records changed."

Hermione nodded. "I wondered why you didn't really seem surprised when Professor McGonagall visited us." She turned to Voldemort "You'll get her out?"

Voldemort nodded. "Yes. I plan on freeing all my loyal Death Eaters that have stayed in Azkaban. It's more a case of when."

He stood. "Now, will you two vow to join my cause? To crush the muggles, the 'light'? To take the place and power you deserve?"

Hermione and Harry looked at each other. They had a conversation with nothing more than looks and a few raised eyebrows. They turned back. "We do."

The Dark Lord smiled. "Well then. We have some work to do."

_Azkaban_

If one was to look for Azkaban, they would be hard pressed to find it. It was a dark slab of obsidian that jutted out of the ground, a slab that sucked the light that the few lanterns provided away. It was far enough north and out to the ocean that it was cold 12 months of the year, and was perpetually raining. Sometimes, it stormed harder than normal, causing the inmates and guards to suffer even more than normal.

The prisoners of the secure ward had it the worst. In what was considered the coldest part of the prison, it was situated right underground and had freezing cold air and sea spray come through the thin windows, and had near 24 hour Dementor presence. This led to all the prisoners in the ward slipping further and further into insanity and mania.

One of these prisoners was sat in her cell. She ranted and raved like the others when Ministry dignitaries arrived but otherwise just sat in her cell. She exercised when she could, she ate when given food, and held her belief that the Dark Lord would return one day. It was what she focused on to preserve her sanity.

She would have been angrier if she knew that another prisoner three doors down held a similar belief, except it was to kill a traitor rat.

She felt a shiver go through her that released a memory – a memory of a young baby. She got up and grabbed the bars of the window, pressing her nose against the dark mark. A small smile broke out on her face for the first time in ten years.

"He found her. Don't worry baby – mama will be free soon"

_Next Chapter: Voldemort takes Harry and Hermione along to collect some new supplies, and Voldemort enacts some of his plans. A new ally and companion appears and what is Albus Dumbledore scheming about? _


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Still don't own Harry Potter.

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Chapter 3 – it begins

The first thing that Voldemort had done before apparating them both was to hastily conjure some plain black robes. He had told them that no matter what it would be a bad idea for Harry Potter to be seen walking where they were going.

Hermione quietly whispered to Harry that the fact that Voldemort had just apparated the both of them at the same time was considered impossible. Harry whispered back that Voldemort had not only performed wandless magic, he could do it without you even being aware, pointing out that Voldemort had trapped him down in the room with the stone. Before they could continue the conversation, they stepped out into an alleyway.

Looking to his right, Harry could see down the end the entrance to Diagon Alley, or at least the side view of it. He turned to Voldemort. "Where are we?"

"Knockturn Alley. This is the place for those who have acquired tastes, those who wish to sell and buy dangerous items, rare items, items banned by the Ministry. It is a place where a good light wizard doesn't go because those who come here are killers, psychopaths and 'Dark' magic users. You'll find yourselves visiting here very often."

Hermione looked around and immediately spotted the book store. "Can we go in there?"

Voldemort shook his head. "Not yet. Another day. We have other items to acquire." With that, he set off down the street, Harry and Hermione close on his heels. The few people they passed on the street glared at them but stayed away, unsure of who they were. It was mildly unsettling for them both but knew they were well protected.

"First thing you must remember about Knockturn: everyone is a crook. They will try to rob you of your money. Say you wish to purchase a book. You know the book is worth 12 galleons, but they tell you it's worth 40. That's too high, so you give a lower price, say 10. They'll counter, say around 25. So you sweeten the deal for them by saying 20. They'll give it to you, proclaiming you ripped them off when they have made a tidy profit."

"Knockturn alley thrives on this. Those who are considered dark and in the know, know that you always bargain the price given. Never accept it because they will continue to rip you off. It also identifies to people who you are. In Diagon, if the price is 25, you pay 25. Here, if the price is 25, you barter to get the price to 18. A 'light' wizard will always pay the price listed. This will help you to determine and gain allies here."

"So, no matter what the item is, we always barter?" Harry asked.

Voldemort nodded "Yes. There is one exception, and that is one of the stores we are going to today. Wands. Wands are fiercely regulated by the Ministry. The only authorised seller is Ollivanders, and even possessing the knowledge of how to make a wand without being an apprentice of his is highly illegal and carries a penalty of 30 years in Azkaban. As such, this seller charges 100 galleons for the wand. The price is always 100 galleons, no more, no less."

Voldemort stopped in front of two stores, one that appeared to sell potions and ingredients and one that was full of clothes. He stepped towards the wall and placed his hand on one of the bricks. Harry and Hermione watched as the wall in between the two stores appeared to pull apart from each other, peeling away like a banana skin revealing a large black door. Voldemort pulled his wand out and tapped it against the door. The door opened and Voldemort ushered them in, allowing the door to close behind them.

The room was small and stuffy, walls filled with all kinds of materials. There was a single gas lamp on the wall, giving everything a more sinister look with shadows hiding many things. Harry turned to find himself face to face with an old witch. He jumped back in surprise, noting from the corner of his eye that Hermione had spun around as well. Voldemort appeared more amused than anything.

"Strangers have made their way into Katine's shop. What can Katine do for strangers today?"

Voldemort stepped forward. "My companions here need wands, Katine. I'll cover the cost."

Katine shuffled over and stared at Voldemort. "Mr Smith. It has been a long time since you have frequented Katine's shop."

"It has. I feel that I and my companions may frequent your store more often."

The witch nodded and turned towards Harry and Hermione. "Katine wonders who you are, young ones. No one who frequents Katine's store is a stranger of Katine's."

Harry turned to Voldemort, unsure what to say. Voldemort nodded. "They are my protégés Katine. May I introduce Seraph (He pointed to Harry) and Aeriel (He pointed to Hermione.)" Katine nodded walked over to Hermione first. She reached out and ran her hands through her hair.

"Katine can sense you are to become a formidable woman. Of course, Katine remembers your mother and the power she wields. Katine looks forward to what you will achieve." She walked over to Harry, grabbing his arm and running her finger up and down her arm. Harry noticed that her finger was almost uncomfortably hot against his arm.

"Power flows through you. I can sense that destiny has a great path ahead of you. Make your own fate, Seraph." She moved over to the table and pulled a small but sharp looking knife out. "Katine needs your hand." Harry and Hermione looked at each other before Harry shrugged. He stepped in front of Katine and held it out, bracing himself. She cut his palm and quickly placed a bowl underneath. Even though no one moved, the cut on his hand healed itself over, leaving nothing behind.

Harry looked up to watch as Katine took the bowl of blood and dropped it into the caldron. She stirred the potion inside as it turned a rich purple colour. "Ah, Katine understands … but of this, she does not know." She hobbled into the back room, where they could hear her clattering around. Harry had the feeling that the woman wasn't completely all there, but obviously knew how to make wands, otherwise Voldemort wouldn't be taking them there.

It was a short wait before she came back out, holding a box that was full of all kinds of materials. She dropped it rather unceremoniously on the bench. "Come, come. Katine needs you to pick through her wares."

Harry shared a look with Hermione before he stepped forward. The boxes were full of feathers, what looked like string, sticks of wood and stone as well as some other items that looked suspiciously like organs. Harry looked at the woman who stared at him, then suddenly nodded. "Ah, Seraph not been told. Stick hand into box – wand will come to you, yes?"

Harry nodded and then slid his hand into the box, keeping his face still even though he could feel his fingers getting caught in many slimy items. As he reached the bottom, the box and items grew warm around his hand and he felt something slide into his hand. He pulled it out and held it so that the others could see it. Katine held her hand out and Harry, rather reluctantly, handed it over.

"Ah, yes. Katine has not seen this sort of combination often. 12 inches, black ash and … hmmm … Katine senses twin core. Heart of Manticore and blood vessel of Basilisk. A very formidable and powerful combination." She handed the wand back to Harry, who was admiring his wand while at the same time wondering what a Manticore and Basilisk was, and how they extracted a blood vessel from it.

Hermione, meanwhile, had moved over to the box and had been about to put her hand into it when Katine snatched the box off the table. "Katine feels this box not for you. Katine has your box prepared already, yes Katine does." She put the box up and stepped back, waving her hand. Hermione hesitated for a second before putting her hand in.

It was only a few seconds before she pulled her hand out, clutching a white wand. She held it out to Katine who took it with a look of reverence. "12 inches, Alder and … twin core as well. Heart of Nundu and nerve of Chimaera. A vicious and powerful combination as well. But Katine is not surprised, for your mother is the legendary Bellatrix Lestrange, yes?"

Hermione nodded, holding the wand close to her. Katine smiled. "Both wands are combinations Katine has not seen often." She turned to Voldemort. "These two have the power to change this world. Katine looks forward to it."

Voldemort nodded "We will need your special holsters, of course, with the usual enchantments – anti-detection charms, anti-summoning as well as anti-removal as well."

Katine nodded, walking over to the wall. "Your pick – Katine will enchant for you."

In the end, Harry chose a purple dragonhide holster while Hermione selected a blue holster that they couldn't identify what creature it had come from. Harry slid it over his wrist, watching in fascination as the band constricted around his right wrist (Voldemort had insisted), settling in nice and tight. Harry slid his wand into the holster and watched as it seemingly vanished. He could see a light outline on his wrist, but when he looked at Hermione's wrist, he couldn't see anything.

Voldemort handed over a bag of galleons, which Katine tipped out over the counter and moved coins around. "Katine is satisfied with payment. Come back whenever you need Katine's services. You are all friends in Katine's shop."

Voldemort nodded and walked to the door, Harry and Hermione on his heels. They turned around to watch as the wall came back together, hiding the shop from existence. Harry turned to Voldemort. "She seemed friendly enough."

Voldemort nodded "Katine is the wandmaker of this alley. The only people who know where her shop is, and how to access it, are those that the Ministry and the Light consider 'Dark'. What do you think of your wands?"

Harry flicked his wrist, popping his new wand out. "It feels … powerful. Much more so than my Ollivander wand."

Voldemort chuckled "This wand has a duel core, unlike the Ollivander wand. Those cores complement each other for you. This wand also doesn't register under the Underage Magic net that covers the country, allowing you to practise magic at home."

Hermione looked at him, shocked. "Wait, what do you mean? Are you saying that if anyone gets a wand from anywhere other than Ollivanders, they can practise magic?"

Voldemort nodded. "Yep. All wands purchased from Ollivanders are registered and detectable from your date of purchase until you turn 17. And, as all wands are registered to a name, the Ministry can tell if it's a pureblood, halfblood or Muggleborn who casts the magic. They will ignore the Purebloods while fining and ruining the muggleborns and probably the halfbloods lives."

Hermione growled "That's just so typical of these people! This means that I would have been disadvantaged this whole time?"

Voldemort nodded. "Not only that, when you graduate from Hogwarts, you will find you have absolutely no chance of getting anywhere in the Ministry, your degree will get you nowhere anywhere in the magical world either here in Britain or the rest of the world, and you won't even be able to go back to the muggle world. You are trapped by the bigotry and the pettiness."

Hermione's shoulders slumped as she processed what Voldemort told her. She felt a hand slip into hers and she looked up into Harry's eyes, which she saw was full of anger as well. "We'll make them pay, Hermione. We've gone from one corrupt world to another, and if they won't fix it, we will."

Before they could continue their conversation, Voldemort ushered them into another store which wasn't hidden behind a wall. Inside, it was similar to Katine's store but instead of materials for wands, it was full of clothing. Hermione turned to Voldemort "Why didn't we just go to the store next to the other one?"

"That is because that is a general clothing store. This one is much more specialised. I also have a custom order to pick up." A man walked out and plastered a large grin on his face.

"Mr Smith! It's a pleasure to see you again! Your order is ready. And are these the two compatriots that are joining you?" As he said this, he ran his eyes over them both. "The usual material?" He seemed surprised when Voldemort shook his head and walked over to the rack.

"This material. How much for two robes?" The man tilted his head slightly, running calculations through his head. "130 galleons."

"50"

"Sir, are you trying to bankrupt me?" the man said, clutching his chest as if he was having a heart attack. "I cannot go any less than 100."

"80"

"90, my final offer."

The two men stared at each other before Voldemort nodded. "90 it is."

The man nodded, walking over and grabbing the spool. Walking back to the counter, he pulled two measuring tapes out and threw them at Harry and Hermione, letting them take measurements as he pulled material off the role. Nodding to himself when he got the measurements, he set off to the back room.

Voldemort sat down and pulled out a notebook that he started to write something in. Harry and Hermione walked around the store, aimlessly browsing the store. Harry wasn't sure how long it was before the man walked out with two black robes.

"If Sir and Madam would care to try these on."

Harry took off his other robe first before sliding the new one on. The robe fit him like a glove and flowed around him like water. The material was almost pure black and was extremely lightweight. He also found a hood that came over his head, leaving only his face visible. He turned to find Hermione wearing her robe as well.

A cough from the counter had Harry and Hermione turning back towards the salesman who had two masks on the counter. "Mr Smith, I have your order here." Voldemort nodded and wandlessly vanished his book, getting up and walking over to the counter. He picked up one and held it out to Hermione before handing the other over to Harry.

Harry looked at the mask in his hand. The face was painted gold, with mesh over the eyes and mouth. Over the face was a swirl pattern. Harry looked over to see Hermione with a similar mask but with flames instead of swirls. Harry looked back up.

"You are going to be my protégés. This means that you will be joining my elite Death Eaters, or rather the ones who know the truth. You'll be in the higher ups and you'll have more freedom to complete the vision."

Harry nodded, then placed the mask on. A hiss came from the mask as it readjusted itself to his face. When it had finished, he opened his eyes. Unlike normal masks, when he opened his eyes his vision wasn't impaired by the eye holes. As such, he found he could look around the room normally.

"You'll find, Sir and Madam, that your voices will not sound the same. The mask has a voice distortion charm on it as well as being able to fit to your face, disappear and reappear at a wave of your hand and can never be removed unless you remove it."

If it wasn't for the mask, Hermione would look impressed. As it was, the only thing anyone could see was the gold mask shining from within the dark hood. Harry looked and could see why people were terrified of Voldemort's Death Eaters, whatever they were. Seeing a golden blank face peering out from under a black hood would be terrifying in a fight. He looked back to see Voldemort nodding. "Perfect."

After being taught how to hide the mask by the store person, they walked out wearing their new black robes. Harry was fascinated at how the robes seemed to flow, making him seem to be gliding down the alley. Voldemort stopped and turned to them. "Stay here. I have to go collect some things." With that, he stepped into the bookstore nearby. Harry and Hermione moved to the side near the pet store, not wanting to draw attention.

_{Ssstupid humansss. Why do they alwaysss need to disssturb my sssleep?} _

Both Harry and Hermione jumped, turning around to find themselves staring at the largest snake that they had ever seen. Harry felt a shiver of anger go through him at seeing the large snake trapped in a tiny cage that clearly wasn't big enough for it. _{"We're sorry. We didn't mean to disturb you.}_

The snake opened an eye and moved its head so that it was looking at Harry. _{You ssspeak. I have heard of ssspeakers, but I never thought I would meet one.}_

Harry frowned, completely confused with what the snake was saying. _{What do you mean?}_ He turned to Hermione who was biting her lip.

_{"Harry, I think we're parseltongues.}_ She tutted when Harry just stared at her with a blank look. _{People who can talk to snakes are parseltongues. To those that speak, they think they're speaking English, but you're actually hissing right now, just like I am}_

Harry looked impressed before he turned back to the snake. _{What's your name?}_

The snake coiled, moving so that it appeared to be sitting up as much as it could in a tiny cage. _{My name isss Nagini. What is yours?}_

_{Nice to meet you Nagini. I am Harry Potter and this is Hermione Lestrange}_ Harry turned to Hermione who looked surprised. _{Your mother is a Lestrange – you should have the same name}_. He watched as a smile broke out on her face as she considered what he said. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to see Voldemort walking back over.

"Are you two done?" Hermione nodded but Harry hesitated. He turned back to look at Nagini and then turned back. "Can we get the snake?"

Voldemort just stared at him, an eyebrow slowly rising. He looked at the snake in the small cage and then back. It didn't take long for him to make the connection – Harry would want to get the snake because she was trapped in the small cage, just like he had been for most of his life in the cupboard. The more he considered it, the more the idea appealed to him. She was the perfect symbol of Slytherin, a potential loyal companion and familiar and would help him strike a powerful image.

He turned to the snake. _{What's your name?}_. He noticed that both Harry and Hermione's eyes widened slightly and resolved to ask them about it later.

_{Nagini. You ssspeak asss well?}_ Voldemort nodded. The widening eyes along with what Nagini had just said told him that Harry, and possibly Hermione, spoke Parseltongue as well. This helped him make another decision as well. Without saying anything else, he strode into the store, Harry and Hermione close on his heels. He didn't need to look to see that Nagini was staring at them as well.

He walked up to the counter and dropped a coin bag on the counter. "How much for the snake in the cage?"

The woman on the counter turned to look at him and scoffed. "Take it. I don't want the money for it. Nasty thing. Super aggressive – I'll be glad to see the last of it." Voldemort raised an eyebrow and looked at the woman. He mentally counted to repress the urge to pull his wand out and just kill her. "My two companions want to purchase snakes as well. How much?"

"50 each." She said, turning back to the magazine she was originally reading. "20." She snorted but nodded, and Voldemort decided that this woman was not the right person to operate a store in Knockturn. He gestured and Harry and Hermione moved over to where the other snakes were. While they were browsing, he walked back over to the cage that Nagini was in.

_{I'm going to release you. This woman has no intention of doing anything for you.}_

Nagini gave a hiss that Voldemort knew was the snake equivalent of a chuckle. _{I don't like mossst humansss. Essspecially her. Ssshe'sss cruel to sssnakesss. I've tried to bite her many timesss.}_

Voldemort chuckled as he opened the latch. Nagini hissed and slid out, using his arm to climb up and drape herself over his shoulders, curling her tail around his torso. He walked back in and waited for Harry and Hermione to come back with their selections.

Hermione was the first back, clutching what appeared to be a Black mamba. Voldemort snorted, not in any way surprised that the daughter of Bellatrix had one of the most dangerous and venomous snakes in the world. Harry appeared not long after carrying a cobra of some kind. A quick look had Harry quietly telling him that she was an Indian Cobra.

Voldemort walked back to the counter. "I trust that they are not registered, and that you have the money needed?"

The woman nodded, not even trying to hide her glare at Nagini on his shoulders. Nagini just hissed and settled down on Voldemort even more. "Nope and yes. Don't ever bring that creature back to my shop."

Hermione looked up to see Voldemort's eyes narrow ever so slightly. Had the woman on the counter actually been looking at that point, she would probably have fainted. Instead he said nothing, just turning on his heels and walking out the store. Harry and Hermione followed him up the road back to where they had apparated.

Instead of leaving, however, Voldemort strode past and continued towards Diagon alley. Harry stopped. "Is it going to be safe for us to go there?" Hermione coughed, trying to cover up the laughter at the fact that Harry somehow considered it more dangerous for them to go to Diagon alley instead of Knockturn alley.

Voldemort didn't even stop, instead pulling his wand out and cast disillusionment charms over Nagini and the other two snakes. "The only person who would even consider I'm back is Dumbledore, and he thinks I'm licking my wounds in Albania. He also believes you are at Privet Drive. No one here will recognise us anyway and your cloaks have notice-me-not charms on them. And before you ask, I cast them when you weren't looking."

Harry grinned, not even needing to look to see that Hermione was closing her mouth, looking a bit disgruntled at the fact that Voldemort had guessed she had wanted to ask how he had done it.

A short walk later saw them walking up the steps to Gringotts. Voldemort looked around the lobby that he hadn't stepped foot in for over twenty years. There was something about the ruthless efficiency of the goblins that Voldemort respected. Many of the purebloods liked to play their word games and to take their time to enact plans. Voldemort appreciated the idea, even knowing that it was useful, but to spend all your time doing it when you could just as easily blast the problem away quickly was just as useful and satisfying.

The goblin guards on the door eyed them up when they entered but did nothing to stop them. Voldemort ignored them, focusing instead on finding a goblin teller. He ignored those without a line in front and chose the goblin with the shortest line.

An hour later saw him in front of the goblin who didn't even look up from the paperwork. "Yes, wizard?" The goblin stopped when Voldemort placed a key on the counter and he picked it up. "Authorisation?"

"Enclave" Voldemort said, quietly so that only the goblin heard. "I require a meeting with the manager."

The goblin nodded. "Wait here." He turned and moved towards a door. Voldemort waited patiently, knowing that the goblin would be back within the next five minutes. He watched as a Muggleborn came up to one of the tellers without a line and tried to get the goblin's attention, then proceeded to get angry when the teller ignored him. Voldemort hid a smirk when the teller then left, with the Muggleborn cursing the goblin before storming out.

He then noticed that the goblin was walking back out the door towards him. Voldemort didn't move, instead waiting for the goblin to reach him. "The manager is free to see you now." Voldemort nodded. The goblin turned and walked back to the door, Voldemort close on his heels. Unlike most people, he only spoke if he needed to when dealing with the goblins. This appealed to their 'time is money' mentality, and had definitely paid off when organising business deals through them – their cuts were sufficiently large that they continued to work to 'appease' him and gain larger cuts.

Thankfully, the walk was short before he was stood outside a door. The simple silver panel on the door read "Grocknut, S.A.M."

It had not taken Voldemort long to learn what he could about the goblins. Their use of post nominals wasn't like the muggles, who used them for awards. Instead, the goblin post nominals were used to represent their position within Gringotts. A simple yet effective method that Voldemort appreciated. A sharp knock on the door had a grunt from inside that Voldemort interpreted as 'Enter'. He sat himself down in front of the goblin.

"Who the hell are you? You're not one of the authorized wizards for this vault. Who gave you this key?" The goblin snarled. From the movements of his hands in his lap, Voldemort guessed that he was currently holding a small blade. Despite his age, the goblin would still be incredibly fast and more than capable of cutting his throat before he could react.

"You're memory must be going if you didn't recognise me, Grocknut. To verify though, the red dragon dealt with the S.A.M of office three on September 25, 1950."

The frown lessened as the goblin sat back. A soft chuckle escaped his lips. "There's only one person who could know that. You look a lot younger than when I last saw you. What do you want?"

"A few items. First, I need two duplicate keys like this one so that other people can access the account. Naturally, these keys cannot be registered, nor can I bring these people in for registering."

Grocknut nodded. "Easy enough. They'll have to give the authentication code when they present them."

Voldemort nodded. "Second, I wish to know what progress has been made on all accounts. I'll take the reports to cut down on time." At Grocknuts nod he pulled out a piece of paper and slid it across the table. "Third, I need you to find this person."

Grocknut unfolded the paper. He looked back at Voldemort. "You want to know where this person is buried?"

Voldemort shook his head. "I have it on good authority that they are alive, but their location is unknown. I need you to discreetly track them down. When I know where, I'll retrieve them."

Grocknut frowned but nodded. "It'll take time, more than normal. People in powerful places will ask questions if they find out about this."

"Which is why I ask you. Which brings me to point four. What is Gringotts current stance in this climate?"

Grocknut snarled and got up, walking over to a decanter with some unknown liquid. He poured himself a decent measure and downed the whole drink. Voldemort remained quiet while Grocknut poured himself a second and walked back over to the desk. He taped a part of the desk with his long finger and Voldemort could feel some kind of suppression field drop on him.

"Powerful secrecy field. No one will be able to hear what we say or do. As for where Gringotts stands, it stands with its head so far up the Muggleborn and Dumbledore's arse, willing to do anything to appease the humans." He spat on the floor. "It's a disgrace, I tell you. It's only gotten worse since you disappeared."

"Ragnok, the coward, is doing what he can to appease the Ministry, the human customers. Our profits have started to diminish because he's more interested in helping Dumbledore and all them humans. Plus, he recently placed a human in charge of a division of Curse Breakers! What's next, a human teller? A human manager?"

Voldemort nodded gravely, his Occlumency skills strong enough to stop the smirk on his face from breaking through. "Sounds like there needs to be a change in management."

Grocknut stopped snarling and turned to look at Voldemort. "A coup? It'd never happen."

"Ah, but it could" Voldemort replied. "Come now, surely you don't think you're the only goblin that thinks this?" When he saw Grocknut shake his head, he allowed himself a small smile. "So perhaps it's time you worked with other goblins to restore Gringotts to its former glory, just like I plan to do with the Ministry and beyond."

Grocknut was staring at his glass, but Voldemort knew that he was seriously considering his words. He knew it wouldn't take much to convince the old goblin. "As you said yourself, Ragnok is a coward. Careful planning, the right word here and there, the right goblin in the right place, and when the time comes, you take back Gringotts."

Grocknut snorted. "Aye, but I know who you are. What's to stop you from coming in when we've finished killing each other and deciding to take over here yourself?"

Voldemort smiled, his red eyes glittering. "Because, Grocknut, I have no intention of running a bank, but making this the only bank that anyone can use, magical or not. You could potentially become the Manager of the only bank in the world, run completely by goblins, working alongside me to make this world in the image we know it needs to be. What say you?"

Grocknut didn't say anything. Voldemort allowed him to stew in his thoughts for a while. "You won't be leading this coup?"

Voldemort shook his head. "I want this coup to happen, and have a time I wish for it to happen by, but the rest would be up to you. Anything else would be an insult to your race."

Grocknut downed the drink and then nodded. "You agree to leave us our freedoms and allow us to do what we want within this bank, then I'll do a coup. When do you plan on needing it done?"

Voldemort shrugged. "Not immediately. Not even for a few years. This is the final game, and not all the pieces are in place, nor are all the powerful enemies defeated. Take your time, gather your strengths, then when the time comes be ready to strike."

_Harry/Hermione, Outside _

Having been left by Voldemort, and while with the knowledge that they were protected by Notice-Me-Nots, Harry and Hermione didn't want to draw any attention to themselves and so they moved down the street, Nagini wrapped around Harry while Hermione carried the Mamba and Cobra.

It was a vastly different experience for Harry this time around. Whereas before, with Hagrid loudly proclaiming his presence as well as his noticeable scar, Harry couldn't take two steps without someone or other thanking him or gushing over him.

But now, these same people were ignoring him, and Harry found that he was really enjoying the experience. He _hated_ the hero worship, the constant reminders of the day he lost his parents. These people wanted to celebrate that fact, but didn't actually care for their _saviour, _happily leaving him with abusive relatives and in the dark about the wizarding world, a world he saved.

Hermione, meanwhile, was used to being ignored, or stared down on. Her whole life, people had stared down at her, for her looks, her intelligence, her birth. These people had stared down at her just because they thought her parents were muggles. It made her blood boil.

They stopped outside Flourish and Blotts where a large crowd of women and young girls were almost stampeding in and out of the store, carrying large stacks of books. Harry just watched as they ran past. "What do you think has them all excited?"

_{Probably sssomething related to that possster in the doorway} _Nagini hissed, pointing the tip of her tail at a poster which covered one of the display windows. Moving closer, they saw that the poster was stating, in horribly bright colours that didn't match whatsoever, that Gilderoy Lockhart would be at the bookstore doing signings.

"Why are all these people here if he's not even here for signing? It's a month away" Harry said, looking at all the people in the line that were clearly carrying books written by this unknown Lockhart.

"Probably because they want to make sure they have the books anyway. Hopefully this is over before our booklists are released so we can buy them in peace – I don't think I could stand these crowds."

Harry grunted, giving the bookstore and line of people one last look of disgust before they moved further up. Quality Quidditch Supplies had a display for the new Nimbus 2001's. Harry spent a few minutes gawking at them while Hermione stood around bored, whispering to Nagini who seemed disinterested by the crowds.

Moving further up, Hermione dragged Harry into Eeylop's and started to look over the various birds that the store held. Harry picked up some more owl treats, and chuckled when he saw Nagini eying some of the smaller owls. Even though they were essentially hidden, the smaller owls seemed to sense that they were being watched by a predator and started to cause a ruckus.

"Why are we in here? You know you can use Hedwig" Harry said as he moved to where Hermione stood.

"I know, but Hedwig isn't exactly the most subtle or discreet bird. Her being bright white and an owl means that she draws attention, and with the company that we are soon going to be present in, I don't think it's a good idea for her to be seen" Hermione said, eying a particularly vicious looking Kestrel. "I wanted a bird that would not stand out but still be useable, and I think he's just the one."

"Do you really need him though? We already have the snakes" Harry said. "Yes. He can be used to send messages to those who we don't want people like Dumbledore to know about. Trust me Harry, it's a good idea. Besides, the snakes will be staying with us at Hogwarts all the time." Harry shook his head but stood back as he waited for Hermione to buy the bird.

When they walked out, Harry looked down towards Flourish and saw that the line was even longer than it had been before. He shook his head but stopped suddenly when Hermione grabbed his hand. "Hermione, what –" His attention was drawn to where she was looking at Albus Dumbledore walking down the street. Harry grabbed her hand and dragged her back into the store.

_Albus Dumbledore_

Today was a good day, Albus thought to himself. He had picked up more of those wonderful lemon drops, the wards on Privet Drive were stronger than ever, and he had finally confirmed Gilderoy Lockhart for the position of Defence against the Dark Arts. Granted, he had been the only one, but Albus was counting on Harry to prove him as a fraud. Gilderoy was too well protected by his reputation, and the only one that could bring him down was Harry. He had seemingly inherited the Potter luck of causing incidents.

Now, all he had to do was sort the budget with Minerva. As such, he was now on his way to Gringotts. Normally when travelling, he would apparate or use Fawkes. However, the goblins didn't really like wizards apparating into Gringotts, nor did they appreciate the beauty of a phoenix fire-travelling in. Albus still winced thinking about the day he had done it, not long after Fawkes decided to join him as his companion. He wasn't planning on making that mistake again.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something move into one of the shops. He stopped and looked, but couldn't see anyone other than the store clerk who was stood behind the counter, too far away from the door to have been the source of the movement. He shrugged, certain that he imagined it.

Walking into Gringotts, he was looking around for a teller that wasn't busy when he suddenly crashed into something, falling heavily. Looking up, he saw that it was a young man who shook his head, papers surrounding him on the floor that signified that he worked for one of the Wizengamot members. The young man looked up to see Albus and scrambled to get up.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going, I do apologise!"

Albus smiled, back on his feet. "Not to worry, I've done the same thing myself. Nothing's hurt. I'm sorry, but I don't recall seeing you at the Ministry."

The young man shrugged as he finished picking up the folders. "I've only just started. Anyway, I have to get going." The young man walked off very fast towards the doors, and Albus watched as he disappeared through it. A slight frown formed as he couldn't shake the slight ominous feeling he had. He turned back to find a line.

_Voldemort_

When he was certain that Dumbledore wasn't watching, Voldemort slowed down and sent the folders to his newly acquired home in Hogsmeade. It was not the most ideal headquarters to use, but for now it would suffice. He looked around, frowning when he couldn't see his two protégés. He walked up the street before suddenly turning around to find Harry and Hermione stood behind him. He subtly waved his hand and cast a notice-me-not over himself as well. "You seem to have been busy while I was in there" he commented, looking over the new bird Hermione was carrying.

"Dumbledore was here! He walked past us!" Hermione said, and Voldemort could tell she was slightly panicking.

"There is nothing to concern yourselves over. Besides, I knew that. I walked into him" Voldemort said. "He is as clueless now as he was years ago, most likely still taking faith in the prophecy. While he is a problem, he is a concern we don't need to worry about just yet."

Hermione looked less worried while Harry frowned. "What now?"

Voldemort held his arm out and Harry and Hermione both grabbed on. Making sure that everything was secured, Voldemort twisted and took them to the Hogsmeade home. When they landed, Voldemort wasn't surprised to see Hermione fall over, head spinning while Harry was bent over, looking extremely pale. Nagini was glaring at him, as much as a snake could.

The owl was glaring too but since he had been glaring at everything before they left, Voldemort wasn't sure if he was actually annoyed about the travel or not.

"What was that?" Harry asked as soon as he got his breath back.

"Apparition. A form of magical travel that is near instantaneous and only requires strength and determination. There are a few other forms of travel, but apparition was the easiest for me to bring you all here."

He walked up the path towards the house, Harry and Hermione following behind. Nagini had slithered onto the ground and when the door opened, she slid in and disappeared into one of the rooms.

"This is where I will train you. The property is warded against the detection net, but since you will be using your Katine wands, you won't need to worry about that."

"Where are we?" Hermione asked. "A safe house. For now. With time, we shall be able to move to a different location. One much more secure than this."

"What will we learn?" Harry asked. Voldemort waved his hand and several books landed in front of them both.

"I will teach you Occlumency, Ligilimency, magic that many consider dark and evil. I will teach you how to fight, the inner mechanisms of the Ministry, the Order of the Phoenix. I will teach you rituals and conduct those rituals to make you more powerful. All things you will need to be able to stand by my side as we bring about the vision."

Harry nodded before looking out the window. "Wait, is that Hogwarts?" Hermione got up to look out of the window to see the castle settled not far away. "We're in Hogsmeade?"

Voldemort smiled. "Where else is the best place to watch your enemy, then right underneath the enemies' nose? I don't plan on staying here long – this house will remain mine, but used as a staging house more than anything. No. Dumbledore is too powerful and well connected, and his death will strike the final blow in the morale of this country. Now" he grabbed the bracelets off the table. "These will allow you to portkey here and back to where you left. These will be temporary. To set a location to go to, simply place your wand on the bracelet and think of the desired location. I expect you, Hermione, here tomorrow at 8. Harry I will collect you from your house before that"

The two nodded and tapped their wands to the bracelets, vanishing away. Voldemort looked around the house. "And so it begins."

_Privet Drive_

Harry reappeared in the backyard of number 4, well hidden from the windows of the other houses. He found the door unlocked but decided he wanted to test his new wand. He pulled it out and tapped it against the lock. "_Alohomora_" a soft click told him that the door was unlocked and he let himself in. He had made it halfway up the stairs before he heard a voice.

"So, boy, you've come crawling back have you? That freak want's nothing else to do with you, does he? That's a shame."

Harry turned around to find Uncle Vernon stood at the bottom of the stairs. Even though his face was purple, he had a wary look on his face that sent a thrill through Harry. Harry turned and smiled at Vernon, who took a step back. Harry started slowly walking down the stairs, and Vernon started to back away.

"_Pertrificus Totalis" _Harry said and a blue light caught Vernon who suddenly locked up. He heard his Aunt scream from the lounge room and smirked. He walked up to Vernon.

"If you haven't worked it out, I can do magic outside of school now. And the magic that I'll be learning, will make what happened earlier today seem like the best day of your life. As for that 'freak' well, he'll be sticking around. And he'll be teaching me more of those tricks he used against you. You remember them?"

The tip of his wand lit up and Vernon's eyes widened, and Harry heard liquid pattering on the floor. He rolled his eyes and stepped closer. "So, heed my words Dursley, and perhaps you might just survive. Stay away from me." With that, he turned on his heel and walked up the stairs, casting the counter-charm over his shoulder.

He got up to his room and shut the door, locking it. Hedwig looked up at him from her cage and hooted. Harry walked over and tapped her cage, unlocking the door. Hedwig hopped out and flew to his shoulder, butting her head against his. The Cobra around his neck hissed and engaged in a glaring match with Hedwig, who continued to stand on him.

"You two need to get along, alright?" Hedwig looked back at him and hooted softly. She nibbled his ear and flew out the open window. The Cobra hissed softly and Harry placed it on the table in the sun. He laid back on the bed and summoned his mask, studying it in the sunlight. He got up and stood in front of the mirror. He looked at himself in the mirror before he placed the mask on.

With the mask on, he realised why people had been so terrified of the Death Eaters. It gave him a thrill, and deep down he made himself a promise to feel this again. And if that meant he worked with Voldemort?

Well, since his parents did, he could live with it.

_Hermione_

Hermione was sat in her favourite window, watching the cars drive past. Normally, she would be sat here, eating her favourite snack and getting lost in one of her books. However, everything she had known had been turned upside down. Her mum wasn't even her mum!

A knock on the door made her look up. "Come in."

Emma walked in the door, a steaming mug in her hand. "Hey. How are you doing?"

Hermione smiled as she took the cup Emma held out. Emma sat down next to her and looked out the window. "Besides the fact that everything I thought I knew was a lie? Pretty good. More than good. You'd think I'd be panicking more about how you're my Aunt, and my mother is a mass-murdering lunatic in Azkaban, and that Voldemort want's to tear down both the magical and non-magical world and shape them how he sees them."

Emma looked at Hermione. "Do you think it's the right thing to do?"

Hermione sighed. "Yeah. The muggles don't know how to control the power and resources they have, the wizards are too lazy to do anything about it with the power they do have, and instead decided to play bully amongst themselves about how's better than who." She snorted. "So yeah, I'm all for tearing it down."

Emma smiled and pulled Hermione in for a hug. She placed a box in Hermione's lap. "What is this?"

"Some things your mother left. I kept them hidden from you until the time was right. And now that you know…" she drifted off and Hermione opened the box.

There were only a few items – an onyx stone locket with 'HL', a few documents that looked like birth certificates and a picture frame with Bellatrix and herself as a baby. The Bellatrix in the frame waved at Hermione before planting a kiss on baby Hermione who appeared to giggle. Hermione picked up the locket.

"It's a tradition in the Black family, when a baby is born, for the Head of the House to give either a ring or a locket. As your mother was a Black, you were entitled to a locket. I wish you could have worn it, but without knowing the truth about it you would always be at risk. Now you know the truth, you should wear it."

Hermione looked up at Emma and held it out. Emma, knowing what Hermione wanted shifted her hair so that she could clasp the locket around her neck. Hermione turned to look at the locket around her neck in the mirror.

"It looks good on you. Trix would be proud of you, I know it." Emma said as she hugged Hermione from behind.

Hermione smiled. "I hope so."

_Knockturn Alley, after dark_

Had anyone been sat on the Alley, they would have seen a man appear out of thin air, without even a pop to announce his arrival. Knockturn alley, however, was not a place one wanted to be around, even during the day, and so it was an empty alley the man started to walk down, red eyes the only thing visible beneath his hood.

Stopping outside one of the shops, the man pulled a wand out and gave it a lazy wave as he walked towards the door. The air shimmered as he waved his hand, the door clicking as it opened. The animals inside started to hiss but a soft hiss back from the man settled them all. The man pulled out a sales book, checked it briefly before placing it back and heading up the stairs.

The woman in the bedroom was dozing off when she heard a creak outside her door. She slowly grabbed her wand as she rolled out of the bed. Living in Knockturn, one didn't wait for those who wanted to cause trouble to come to them, nor did one not know how to defend themselves.

What she wasn't prepared for was the door exploding inwards. She flew backwards, slamming heavily into the wall. Dimly she was aware that she had lost her wand. Before she could do anything, ropes had tied themselves around her and dragged her into a sitting position. Her eyes lifted upwards to find the man who had come in earlier that day standing in front of her. She also noticed the large snake curled around his neck. She opened her mouth to scream, but the man waved a hand and no noise came out.

"While I do like it when people scream, unfortunately I don't have much time before I could be found, and that would be disastrous for my plans. Now, do you recognise me? Or rather, do you recognise who I actually am?"

Her eyes followed his arm as it twisted towards her, revealing a snake flowing out of a skull. That, along with the easy wandless and non-verbal magic made her realise who was stood in front of her. She started to scream and Voldemort sighed.

"Today, I discovered how cruel you were to Nagini here. So, I don't think you have a place in the society I wish to create. You should be proud. Your death marks the start of the changes I plan to bring about."

He hissed, and she watched as the snake slid off his shoulders and moved towards her. She tried to wriggle away, but the ropes were so tight that she all she could do was fall over. She watched as the snake moved towards her and then struck.

Voldemort waited until the woman had stopped struggling and was bleeding out before vanishing the ropes. He levitated her body down the stairs and placed it near Nagini's former cage. He cast a quick _Evanesco _to remove the blood from the woman's bedroom and stepped out the store. A lazy wave of his hand removed the silencing ward and he vanished into the night.

_Next Chapter: Training begins for Harry and Hermione, while an old enemy enacts his own plans._


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Who owns Harry Potter? Not me, sadly.

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Chapter 4 – Training

An alarm clock sounded off from near Harry, and with a groan he shut it off. Any other morning and he would already be up doing chores for the Dursleys, but after the good talking to they had the other day, the Dursleys had eventually decided that he was exempt from doing chores.

Harry might have threatened them with Voldemort coming back, but the Dursleys did make the decision themselves.

Voldemort had told him that he would be picked up somewhere between 6:30 and 7, which gave Harry time to have some food before he left. He pulled the black robe over his head, marvelling at how light and soft it felt. He held his hand out for the newly named Apep who slithered up his arm, before he went to exit his room.

Harry was not surprised that none of the Dursleys were awake or downstairs yet, but paid it no attention since he didn't want to see the Dursleys anyway. He sat down Apep and started to eat. Halfway through, a noise drew his attention as Petunia went to walk into the kitchen. When she saw him, she eeped and went to leave.

"Stop." Petunia stopped in the doorway, not moving or turning. "If you want to get breakfast, that is fine. I won't stop you from doing that." He watched as Petunia nodded, almost muttering to herself before she drew herself up and turned back into the room. She tried not to flinch when Apep hissed at her before she rushed over to the cooker to make breakfast. After being forced to do it for years, Harry didn't feel bad for making her do it herself.

Movement in the corridor drew Harry's attention, though he didn't react to it thinking that it was Vernon or Dudley, so he was quite surprised when Voldemort stepped into the room. Petunia flinched from where she was stood but didn't react otherwise, simply turning back to the cooker. Voldemort sat down at the table.

"I hope there was no trouble yesterday after your return." Voldemort said. Even though his voice was low and the tone soft, it still carried around the whole room. Harry could see Petunia stiffen up and decided that she had been tormented enough for now.

"None at all. My relatives were more than … accommodating." Harry said, watching as Petunia visibly relaxed before resuming cooking. Her reactions weren't missed by Voldemort, amusement flickering in his eyes. He turned towards Petunia.

"You need not worry about me being here every day. I simply wished to make sure that you treated my protégé with the respect he deserves." Petunia didn't turn around but nodded. That seemed to satisfy Voldemort who turned back to Harry. "Are you ready to leave?"

Harry nodded and picked up Apep. Together they walked out the door, and Voldemort grabbed Harry's arm and apparated them away.

_Hogsmeade_

The two reappeared in the backyard of the house that Voldemort showed them the day before. Hermione was sat out on the back porch reading a book, and Nagini was curled up on the porch looking like a guard dog. When she spotted them she seemed to perk up a little. _{Young Massster! You've returned!} _

Harry laughed. _{Yes, we have. How are you enjoying freedom?}_

_{It isss much better than having that woman hurt me and being trapped in that sssmall cage} _Nagini hissed, rubbing her head against his hand when he crouched near her.

A noise from the door drew Harry's attention to Voldemort. "Come. We have much to do in a short time." Harry got up and followed him inside, Hermione right behind him. Voldemort indicated to the table and they all sat.

"Obviously, you know what my eventual goals are. In the meantime, there will be much preparation that has to be done. If you are to be my protégés, you'll need to protect your mind with Occlumency. You'll need to have your minds sufficiently protected before the start of next term, otherwise we run the risk of Dumbledore finding out that I am not as defeated as he believes."

Harry looked over at Hermione, who looked just as confused as he felt. "Sorry, what's Occlumency? And what does it have to do with Dumbledore?"

"Occlumency is the art of protecting your mind from mental invasion. It allows you to remember more clearly, you learning capacity increases, your control over your emotions increase, and you gain the ability to protect the memories that are most important to you. As for Dumbledore, he and Snape are both highly accomplished Legilimens, people who are able to enter your mind and find the memories that they seek, without you being aware."

"Wait, they do that? That's an invasion of privacy!" Hermione bristled. Voldemort chuckled. "As if that would stop Dumbledore or Snape. They can perform Legilimens wandlessly, however for that they have to be looking into your eyes or face. They do it, to ensure that they know exactly what's happening in the castle, and who is doing what. It allows for Dumbledore to appear to be omnipresent. This is why I must teach you Occlumency, for if he discovers the truth all our plans will fail."

"Occlumency is much more difficult than Ligilimency. Many books will teach you that you have to build a defence around your mind, or a mindscape with defences. However, that is foolish. One who can perform Ligilimency will know that you have studied Occlumency. When Snape had joined my Death Eaters, I knew straight away he practises Occlumency. As such, I could never fully trust him."

Harry looked at Hermione, who looked to be on the edge of her seat. Harry admitted to himself that he was also interested to learn more. "You say that it is foolish. What will you be teaching us instead?"

Voldemort chuckled. "The true art of Occlumency. Think of your mind as a river. Your thoughts, emotions, desires – they all make up the water." He waved his hand and an illusion of a river appeared on the table. "Now, think of what I just described as Occlumency. That is the same as placing a dam." A wall suddenly built up through the illusion, blocking the flow of the river. "You see how it stops? Nothing comes through the other side. You notice that the flow has stopped on the other side. It is obvious to one who looks."

"Now, take away the block. The river flows again. Now, say a stone was placed in the river." A stone dropped into the illusion, but the flow of the river didn't stop or alter. "Note that nothing else has changed. That is what I will teach you. The true art of Occlumency. Rather than hide your mind, you simply distract them. You hide the memories away, the things you don't want seen by anyone, and allow the rest to flow from you unimpeded. It will distract the one performing Ligilimency as they won't notice one small 'stone' that is in the 'river' of your mind."

"Why would they want to look through our minds though?" Harry asked. He felt icky at the fact that Snape and or Dumbledore had seen what he was thinking. A quick look at Hermione told him she felt the same.

"Because you are the Boy-Who-Lived." Voldemort replied. "Dumbledore knows about the 'prophecy' and as such will want to keep you, the 'weapon' of the Light, close. No doubt you had some hero worship for him because you felt he was responsible for freeing you from your relatives when he took you to Hogwarts." Harry nodded. "Exactly. You would then listen to him, follow his every word and every plan and eventually you might win the war. However, he doesn't disclose everything – never has, never will. He'll keep everything close to his chest, dole out small bits of information here and there, and force you without you even realising to not share that info with anyone else."

Harry sagged as Voldemort talked – all that he had said did seem like something Dumbledore would do. He hadn't provided any information in the hospital wing. "He seemed so sincere though. And Hagrid, he sent Hagrid to collect me."

"Did you not find it odd that you got a visit from someone who wouldn't be threatened easily by your uncle? By someone with hero worship for Dumbledore, and a prejudice against Slytherins? That every single muggle-born, including Hermione who had no idea about Hogwarts or its layout before finding out about Magic, knew where to go for classes in the castle? That a wizarding family who also worship Dumbledore would just be wondering through muggle King's Cross?"

Harry ran through the events in his mind. Thinking about it, it was strange about the Weasleys who had seven kids, two of whom had already left Hogwarts. What were the odds that they had forgotten where the station was? The mother and daughter had even mentioned the name of the station! "How do magical families get to the station then?"

"Floo or apparition" Hermione said. She had noticed these events happening, but she hadn't thought to say anything. Harry nodded and kept thinking. Why would a groundskeeper be sent to collect students anyway? He had taken him to Gringotts and withdrawn the stone rather indiscreetly. But, thinking on it, was it possible he was meant to know that the stone, even though he didn't know it was the stone, had been taken to Hogwarts?

Harry looked at Hermione who appeared to be thinking hard as well. She had known where all the classes were, what they involved, how the school worked. Some of the things she had known weren't in _Hogwarts: a History_, and the rest of the books were only on classes. The rest of the muggleborns knew as well where the classes were as well! Hagrid had told him things, but Harry hadn't been left with anything for it – so he hadn't been given anything he needed.

It all seemed to come back to Dumbledore, Harry realised. Dumbledore had placed him at Privet Drive, Dumbledore was responsible for the mess of a reintroduction to Hogwarts and the Wizarding world, Dumbledore was responsible for the lack of safety and security at the school, Dumbledore was behind the mess that was the whole Philosopher Stone.

Harry looked over at Voldemort. "Did he know, that you were in the school?"

Voldemort nodded. "Of course he did. But he wanted to test you. Why do you think those traps were so easy for you? And they played to all your strengths?"

Harry and Hermione gaped at him. He sighed. "A cerebrus from the gentle giant who can't keep his mouth shut and has a love for giant animals. Keys that played to a seekers strength. A chess game that played to the redhead. A logic puzzle that played to your brilliant mind."

"But what about the Devils Snare, and the troll?" Hermione asked.

"Simple. I imagine that Dumbledore hoped that Neville Longbottom went with you, as he considers him the other child in the prophecy. As for the troll, it was added _after_ the three of you defeated the troll on Halloween. All of them would seem complicated to you, but it was child's play for any adult or even a seventh year. All Dumbledore did was place notice-me-not charms on the corridor to repel everyone but you three."

"But why? Why is Dumbledore so determined to manipulate me?" Harry asked. He looked down when he felt something heavy on his leg, finding Nagini resting her head. He reached down and started stroking down her scales softly. Nagini released a hiss of satisfaction.

"Because he has been the leader of the Light for so long he has begun believing only he can make the decisions. And since he heard the prophecy, he believes he has to make sure it is completed to the way he has interpreted it so that the magical world can go back to basking in the Light he provides."

Voldemort leaned back in his chair and with a lazy wave had three cups of tea brought over. "But enough about the manipulative senile old goat. Do you have any other questions?"

"How has no one noticed that Harry is using magic at Privet Drive? And won't Dumbledore notice us using magic to bring Harry here?" Hermione asked. Voldemort nodded. "Dumbledore placed a ward over Privet Drive to hide any magic performed at the location, so that the Underage Magic Department in the Ministry wouldn't find him. However, he also placed a ward that would alert him to any magic performed by Harry, so he could monitor him. But that ward has a weakness, in that it only monitors Harry. I can use magic, you can use magic, but Harry shouldn't."

"But I was using magic! I used magic against my relatives!" Harry almost shouted.

"Yes, but that is because your new wand has a ward around it that hides any magic use using it. And I hid magic use around me, which is why it didn't register. However, it will register any portkey you use, so the portkey I gave you is only to be used in a dire emergency. Until I teach you apparition, you'll have to deal with us taking you everywhere." He got up. "Now, follow me."

Harry and Hermione got up as well. Nagini, slightly annoyed that she was no longer being stroked, slithered off to find somewhere to nap. They followed him outside to a clearing in the backyard. He gestured and they both sat.

"Now, to evaluate your capabilities, I'll have to perform Ligilimency on you. The first few times will be … disconcerting for you. Attempt to repel me from your minds." He turned towards Hermione. "_Legilimens"_

Memories started to flash before Hermione's eyes. She saw flashes of her mum and her aunt, flashes of times where she was reading a book under a tree or sat on a swing. Where she started primary school, eager to make friends, but the kids seemed to be put off by her love for books and knowledge instead of dolls and dresses. How the older ones pushed her around and tore up her books. A birthday party where she invited her classmates but none of them turned up, nor did they say anything to her the next day at school.

She saw how excited she was when she got her letter to Hogwarts, hoping that things would change. That the older students stared down at her because of what she was wearing. The feeling of kinship with Harry when she met him on the train. Despair when she was ignored at Hogwarts for those few weeks. Anguish when she was bullied and couldn't talk to her Aunt about it.

Hermione gasped as she found herself back in the kitchen. Harry was holding her hand while Voldemort was putting his wand away. Hermione took deep breaths to calm herself down, only just becoming aware of the tears running down her face.

"I'm sorry about that, Hermione. I know just how unpleasant other kids can be to those that they consider different. Your defences are good – you certainly have the capability of Occlumency, and with some training in it you'll be able to fool all the idiots out there. When you go home, I want you to meditate. Search for your subconscious, your essence. Often by finding that, you'll find what essentially is your mind as how others see it. Do that until you are able to find it as easily as blinking."

Hermione nodded. She moved over to the table where Nagini was curled around Apep and Nuwa, the black mamba she had gotten. Nuwa, sensing that Hermione was upset, uncurled from the others and climbed up her arm, settling around her shoulder and gently hissing.

Harry turned to look back at Voldemort, who simply lifted his wand. Harry nodded and Voldemort flicked his wand, muttering the incantation.

Unlike Hermione, though he didn't know that, Harry didn't get any happy memories. He saw Dumbledore, McGonagall and Hagrid abandoning him. He saw how he was thrown and beaten around, dumped in the closet under the stairs for hours or days at a time. How his aunt hit him around the head with whatever she had nearby when he made a simple mistake or a little bit of mess. How all the students would either ignore or beat him up. How the teachers ignored his injuries and would never pay him any attention, always praising the other students in the class.

He saw the meeting with the Weasleys at the train station and how much it stank of a set up. He saw how everyone judged him on the train, in the Great Hall during the sorting, in classes. He fell out of his memories as Voldemort staggered back. Hermione moved over and crouched in front of him. "Are you alright Harry?"

He nodded. "Yeah. How were my defences?" he asked Voldemort. "Good – damn good for someone who's had no training. I imagine if I was to try the Imperius curse on you, I would struggle to get it to hold. Like Hermione, I want you to meditate, find your essence and learnt to control it. When you have done that, Occlumency will be relatively easy for both of you."

He stood up and waved his wand. Both Harry and Hermione noticed that their clothing changed into exercise clothing. "Come. You're going to do some physical exercise."

Once outside, Voldemort got them to start with laps of the magically expanded garden. To encourage them not to drop their speed, he started to launch random hexes at them. When the two were sufficiently done according to Voldemort, he gave them a few minutes to rest before starting them on some push ups, crunches, lunges and pull ups. He got them doing resistance training using machines that were designed to shrink and expand, meaning they could use them anywhere.

"Why are we doing this?" Harry asked at one point during the workout.

"Because, during a fight, the one who moves the most and is the fastest and strongest usually is the one who wins. The purebloods are lazy, often just strolling and firing. Luckily for them, most of the other wizards are cowards who don't want to fight and just run away. When Aurors would turn up, the purebloods would simply leave. A good fighter is one that has the physical strength and endurance to last a fight."

Once done, Harry and Hermione collapsed onto the chairs in the kitchen, tired from the workout that Voldemort had put them through, both physically and mentally. Voldemort didn't even look like he had broken a sweat and was more amused than anything else. He placed two books on the table.

"I expect you both to read that book. In it is a variety of spells and rituals that many in the Ministry would label as 'Dark'. We will perform a couple of rituals before you return to Hogwarts, and as such I expect you to know what they do."

Harry and Hermione nodded, pocketing the books. "Now, as for your tasks, they are going to be quite simple this year. I expect the both of you to identify those at the school who will be sympathetic to our cause, those who could be useful and those who are a grave threat. We need allies or even those who can provide us with access to areas within the Ministry."

"I already know one – Susan Bones." When Harry looked confused at Hermione, she rolled her eyes. "Honestly Harry, you should pay more attention to people. Susan lives with her Aunt – Madam Amelia Bones, Department Head of the Magical Law Enforcement."

Voldemort nodded. "Excellent – get close to her, and even if she isn't going to be a part of our cause we can still use her to get an in with the Aurors. Don't just focus on her though."

"Here's the thing – what is our group going to be called?" Harry asked. Voldemort looked confused, so he elaborated. "Your Death Eaters are just a bunch of Pureblood bigots, and our cause isn't related to that. To those Death Eaters you're fooling, yes, we should and will pretend to be Death Eaters, but to those in the know, we should be something different."

Voldemort sat back, clearly thinking hard. After a few minutes he looked up. "That's an excellent idea. Ideas for a name though?"

"The Shadows. We aren't going to try and take over overtly. Instead, we're operating in the shadows, working quietly and slowly." Hermione suggested.

Voldemort smiled. "The Shadows. Very well. I like the idea. Therefore, as the founding member of what is to be called the shadows, I hereby induct you both into the new order."

"You called us something different in the wand store. Why did you give those names?" Hermione asked.

"Because they are anagrams of your names. Not the full name – Dumbledore knows that the name Lord Voldemort is an anagram, and therefore he will be able to deduct that your names are also anagrams. However, it will fool the other idiots in this world. It will be a persona for you, allow you to act differently than you can do in public. They will be your names for when we want to further our agenda and to make sure that no one else knows that the Golden Boy and the Smartest Girl of her Generation are involved with the Dark Lord Voldemort."

It made sense to both Harry and Hermione. "Now, Harry I'll take you home. I want both of you to study that book – we'll practice some of the spells tomorrow."

Harry and Hermione nodded. Voldemort placed his hand on Harry's shoulder and the two disappeared. Hermione was about to leave when Nagini slithered over. Hermione crouched down and stroked Nagini, before grabbing her portkey and Nuwa and disappearing.

_Number 10, Downing Street_

It was a quiet day, all things considered. John Major sat staring at the large pile of paperwork that was in his in tray, contemplating if he could just palm it off to his Chief of Staff or one of the other workers.

A cough from a painting made John groan. "The Minister of Magic is about to arrive for a meeting Muggle."

John looked at the painting which was staring back at him before rolling his eyes. He had learnt when he had first taken the office that no matter what he thought, the Minister for Magic had decided that he was more important than anyone or anything else he could be doing. He despised the man, wearing his striped pinstripe suit and with that stupid bowler hat. He walked over to his cabinet and pulled out a bottle of whisky. He had requested his staff to go out and find "the nastiest whisky possible", and the man within the hour had achieved it. It was so atrocious that John didn't even pretend to drink it anymore when the Other Minister was there.

His fire flared green and he watched as the portly man stepped out of the fire. The man pulled a stick out and waved his hand, removing all the soot on his suit. The soot on the floor remained. "Ah, Majet, it's good of you to find the time to meet me."

It took all his internal strength not to react to the butchering of his name. "Likewise, Minister. You know that I am more than happy to see you. Drink?" he held out the glass, which Fudge took with a muttered thanks. Fudge took a sip and immediately he grimaced. John took a sip of his drink (having used his good whisky) to hide the small smile on his face. "Honestly, I don't know how you muggles even stand drinking this rubbish. But then you don't have magic, so you can't make Firewhisky."

John grunted and gestured to the seat opposite. Fudge sat down, trying to make himself comfortable on the hard wood seat. "I assume, Minister, that you aren't here for a social call."

"No, no. I'm just here to tell you that there is to be an election for my position coming up. As you are the Muggle Minister, I am per Ministry Charter obliged to notify you of the election, in the case that I am not elected. If that happens, then the new Minister will introduce themselves to you. Hopefully that won't happen!" Fudge laughed and John nodded.

"Well, thank you for letting me know. Anything else you need to tell me? I have a lot of work to do."

"No, no, I'll leave you to it. Hopefully I'll see you after the election." Fudge placed down the glass and walked towards the fire. It flared green and he stepped through, disappearing in a whirl.

John downed the rest of his drink, picking up one of the files on his desk which was in one of many reports he had received, detailing how a mass murdering magical lunatic had broken into the premier magical school to steal some fabled stone that could make you immortal. What was worse was apparently everyone just accepted the word of the old man running the school.

John knew that Fudge was deep in the pockets of the old man, who if the reports were right was not only essentially in charge of the magical government of Britain but was also in charge of the International government. That wasn't the only reason he didn't like or trust the man. There was also that he didn't get his name right; that the man seemed to think everything was a joke; that this man also gave off the impression that he didn't think that He, the Prime Minister, was even worthy of his time, nor that he was really worth anything. It was the sense of superiority that he hated from the Other Minister. He was just glad that all his thoughts were protected behind 'Occlumency shields' that his secretary, Alex, had taught him. The man had no love lost for the magical people, who had thrown him away just because he was a squib. No, it was time to change things.

He pressed a button on his phone. "Alex? Schedule a meeting with Stella Rimington. Make that with Colin McColl as well."

"Certainly sir. Will the meeting be held here?"

"No. See if they can arrange one in a place without oversight of m." John replied. The phone was silent for a couple of seconds. "I will have that done at once, sir."

"Thank you Alex." He released the button and picked up his glass. It was time to start making plans against the incompetent magical government – though any plans would have to be altered depending on the outcome of the election. He snorted – the odds of getting a Minister that was actually competent was about as high as John flying to the moon using only his arms.

_Malfoy Manor_

The only sound in the study was that of the fire gently crackling and popping. A man sat in the chair in front of it, idly swirling a glass of amber fluid as he stared into the fire. It had been a long day at the Ministry; meetings with Fudge and several Wizengamot members, discussing the newest bills and handing over bribes to ensure the bills were either pushed through or delayed. The main one he wanted delayed at the moment was Arthur Weasley's Muggle Protection Bill.

Lucius thought it was completely unnecessary to have this bill. While he had a lot of dark artefacts and items in his home and vault, it wasn't like most of the Darker Aligned Purebloods actually used them on muggles. He felt it was Arthurs, and therefore Dumbledore's, way of gaining blackmail material on them. Luckily, most of those on the Wizengamot didn't like the bill because it gave the Ministry more abilities to search their homes, and no wizard liked their home invaded.

However, Lucius had a slightly different motive for not allowing the bill to pass. His eyes drifted to his left arm where the Dark Mark sat. He knew that his Lord had survived that night, but where he was Lucius wasn't sure. He had his suspicions, based on whispers and what little useful info he could get from Draco between his cursing of "Stupid Potter" and "the Mudblood Granger".

Lucius sighed and rubbed his eyes. His son was, perhaps, his biggest disappointment in his life. He was spoiled, had no subtlety and seemed to have no desire to actually put his brain to use. When the Dark Lord returned, and Lucius knew he would, Draco would most likely become a liability. Lucius held out the hope that when the time came, Draco would step up or otherwise the Dark Lord would kill him.

On the other hand, maybe it was time to give Narcissa that second child she always wanted.

His own plans had worked. His influence in the muggle world had increased, he held a vastly greater number of shares in companies or positions on their boards than he did 11 years previous, his influence in the magical world had increased, he had more money in a hidden vault. When the Dark Lord returned, Lucius hoped that he would be happy with his progress, that it would further their plans.

He got up and walked over to his desk, and placed his wand on a little groove and pushed his magic slightly. A few seconds passed before a wave of warmth passed through his arm and with a click a secret drawer opened. He reached in and pulled out the photo inside. A small smile ghosted his lips as he looked at the people who were smiling and waving in the photo. The photo was taken a few months before the Dark Lord was 'defeated' and the Potters were killed. It was the last time they were all together.

The two Potters were stood next to each other, little Harry held between them. Bellatrix stood next to Lily holding onto Hermione. Lucius wondered how Draco would react if he ever found out. Lucius stood next to James, laughing at some long forgotten joke. The Dark Lord was stood at the edge of the photo, looking bored. Lucius sighed as he placed the photo back and pulled out the other object in the desk. He walked back over to the fire and sat down, placing it on the side table.

Even now, he could feel the sheer malevolence coming from the little book, along with the compulsion to pick it up. While he could try and destroy Arthur in many other ways, he felt it would be better if he not only destroyed any chance of Arthur passing the bill but also destroyed his family. The shame of what that diary would make the child do would destroy the reputation of the Weasleys, at a minimum.

He knew it was a massive risk, handing over one of the Dark Lords soul pieces to a family that was deep with Dumbledore. While the old man was getting more senile, it didn't change the fact that he was still quite powerful and intelligent, and it wouldn't take him long to work out what the item was. However, if this played out right, the Dark Lord would be pleased.

Or at the very least, wouldn't immediately kill him. That was entirely too possible.

All that was left, was to wait for the day he could drop off the diary.

Unknown to him, a small figure was stood watching from outside his study door. The creature panicked and disappeared.

_Privet Drive_

Harry was lounging on his bed, reading the book that Voldemort had given them. The number of spells in the book, ones that were considered to be light, dark or a mix of both, was fascinating, and Harry had already tried to practise a few of them, with his illegal wand of course. Apep was stretched out in the sun, and Hedwig was preening herself on his desk. He was drawn from his reading when there was a knock on his door. He didn't move, instead listening when he heard his uncle grumbling as he walked towards the door. That changed when he heard his uncle call out to him.

Harry ran down the stairs, wand in hand to find Hermione stood in the hallway. Harry noticed that his uncle looked extremely pale and surmised that Hermione had threatened him in some way to stop him from yelling out and slamming the door in his face. "Hey Hermione!" he ran over and gave her a hug.

Hermione found herself surprised by the hug but returned it with just as much vigour. Harry never seemed to initiate any form of contact with people, which she put down to the abuse that he had suffered from the fat walrus. She vowed to make the Dursleys pay – depending on if there was anything left over after Harry took his revenge. "Hey Harry! I was wondering if you wanted to go hang out."

"Yeah, let's go." Harry took her hand and practically dragged her out the door. They didn't slow down until they had made it to the park at the end of the street. They sat, slowly swinging, and Harry turned to look at Hermione. Perhaps it was because he had spent a whole year with her, but he already noticed a few small differences in her. She seemed to hold herself higher, a little bit more confident, and her hair seemed … different somehow.

"How did you get here, Hermione?" She turned to look at him and smiled. "Well, you had mentioned your address to me – I worked out you lived all of a half hour away from me, so I simply caught a bus. I can see why you don't like your relatives."

Harry grunted. "I'm just looking forward to giving them their just rewards for the hard work they put into rescuing me." Hermione laughed and they slipped back into a comfortable silence. It was a while before Hermione spoke. "I actually wanted to talk to you about what Voldemort said. Are you ok with it all?"

Harry nodded. "I am, actually. Seeing all those memories, being abandoned, abused and then they all seemed to just stare at me and expect me to be happy with their praises. I hate it. If we can change this world for the better, and we side with Voldemort, then I'm more than happy to. You?"

Hermione nodded. "No one has been kind to me except for you and Voldemort. My aunt and uncle as well, but they're family."

Harry frowned. "Just because they're family, doesn't mean that they can't hurt you."

Hermione turned to him. "Oh god, I didn't mean that! I'm sorry." Harry waved it off. "Its just, after being put down so much by everyone for being the bushy haired, buck-toothed freak, it would be nice to make them pay."

Harry nodded. "Then we do it together." Hermione looked at him. "Voldemort wants us to develop those personalities, Seraph and Aeriel. What if, we were a duo? One is not seen without the other."

Hermione nodded. "It would strike terror, that's for sure. What if we swap our attitudes?" At his confused look, she continued. "What if, I'm more impulsive and emotional, while you're the calmer and more collected one?"

Harry nodded. "What if we addressed each other as brother and sister? Dumbledore and the Aurors would look for a brother and sister and wouldn't consider us."

Hermione nodded and laughed. "Voldemort's proteges, brother and sister." She grabbed his hand. "I think that it is a great idea. And when we reveal our alternate personalities, I think the world is going to panic."

_Knockturn Alley_

Senior Auror Robards watched over the two Junior Aurors as they completed scans of the building. It was unusual for the Aurors to be actually doing anything in Knockturn, but the patrolling Auror team had been grabbed when people had tried to visit the store. When they had entered the premises, a quick search had resulted in them finding the storeowner dead in front of a large empty cage. As such, he had been deployed to the scene.

One of the Junior Aurors came over. "Sir." He nodded. "We finished the search and the forensics. The snake that was in the empty cage wasn't sold apparently, and if what is listed in the ledger is correct then it was the snake that attacked her."

"Ok. No signs of forced entry? No struggle?"

"There are rope burns on her wrists, but a search upstairs shows some … adult bondage toys, including rope, which appear to match the burns on her wrist. Other than that, no Sir."

He nodded. "Any sign of the snake?" The Junior Auror shook his head.

He looked over the notes that the Junior Auror had given him. A few minutes passed before he looked back up. "Alright. Have some men from the Magical Creatures Department come and collect the rest of the animals in the store, and have the body taken to the morgue. Clean up the rest and finish up your report back at HQ"

The Junior Auror nodded. "Sir, yes Sir." He walked off. Robards looked around. He stepped outside and waited until more officials turned up before apparating back to the Ministry. Days like these were good, where all the cases he got were nice and easy.

_Next Chapter: Training continues, Voldemort schemes and Harry gets a visit_


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: All character and the Universe of Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. I just write this for the enjoyment.

A/N: Wow! 200 followers on this story! Thank you so much! I'm sorry for the long break - life has gotten much more hectic and then whenever I sat down to write I had Writers Block. But, got there in the end and now you get a new chapter!

A/N #2: Whoops - totally got the spells wrong. Thanks to those who pointed it out!

As always, Fav, follow and review!

Chapter 5 – Lessons & Plots

Harry could honestly say that he was enjoying being at Privet Drive for the holidays. Of course, it only took a lot of threatening and minor application of pain to stop his Uncle from exacting his revenge, or for his cousin to beat him up.

Now, he was again relaxing on his new bed, reading through his school books as well as the book that Voldemort had given him. Before Hermione had left, they had discussed the previous school year, and she had expressed her disappointment in Harry that he hadn't tried better, especially since he had been more studious at primary school. Harry had come back with that with everything they had thought had been going on, as well as being around Ron, he had done well enough. Hermione had sniffed and pointed out that not only had she been on all the adventures as well, but that she had managed to do well on her studies.

He looked up when he heard a tapping at the window, spotting an owl with a letter in its beak. He waved his wand and opened the window, where the bird glided onto the table. He relieved it of its letter and gave it an owl treat. He looked down at the envelope and spotted the Hogwarts crest. He opened it and pulled the letter out.

_Dear Mr Potter,_

_Enclosed in this letter are your grades for Year 1. These grades are split between practical and theory, depending on the subject. Grades are assigned and scaled similarly to those given in OWL's (Ordinary Wizarding Levels) and NEWT's (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests). _

_The grades that can be awarded are as follows: _

**Pass Grades**

"_**O" - Outstanding**_

"_**E" – Exceeds Expectations**_

"_**A" - Acceptable**_

**Fail Grades**

"_**P" - Poor**_

"_**D" - Dreadful**_

"_**T" – Troll**_

_Listed below are your grades for Year 1:_

_Astronomy _

_Theory – "A"_

_Practical – "A" _

_Charms_

_Theory – "A"_

_Practical – "E" _

_Defence Against the Dark Arts_

_Theory – "O"_

_Practical – "O" _

_Herbology_

_Practical – "A"_

_History of Magic_

_Theory – "P"_

_Potions_

_Theory – "P"_

_Practical – "A" _

_Transfiguration_

_Theory – "A"_

_Practical – "A"_

_These grades will give you an indication as to how you are progressing through the course. Your grades affect your ability to select certain electives in Third year. _

_You should receive your school list for Second year within two weeks. _

_Regards,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Harry sighed. His grades, while he had passed, were not good enough, and he knew that Hermione would tear him a new one when she saw them. He also knew that Voldemort would be disappointed, but most likely wouldn't actually say anything out loud.

That being said, didn't this work perfectly? If people didn't think that Harry was super smart, or that he was changing, then someone might get suspicious. Plus, it would allow him to fly under the radar, and wouldn't draw attention to the fact that he was getting more powerful.

He reached over and grabbed the new book that covered the inner workings of the Ministry. Voldemort had pointed out that it was highly important to get an understanding of how the Ministry worked, how the departments worked and where it fit in the world, to give them the knowledge on how to take it over.

Harry was astonished at how similar yet how different the Ministry was compared to the Muggle government. The general layout was the same – the laws were written and decided by the Wizengamot, who then pass that on to the Ministry to enforce. The Ministry was run by the Minister's office, who's sole job was to ensure that all departments were working to uphold the laws. While the Minister's office and the Department Heads had seats in the Wizengamot, they could not vote on any laws. If the Department Head was also a Head of House, then their seat was taken from them to prevent corruption, and the seat given to a proxy.

What surprised him, though, was how the Minister was appointed. In the muggle government, the Prime Minister was elected by being the leader of their political party, after their party gained enough seats in the House of Commons. In the Ministry, however, the Minister was voted in by an external group of people, whose identity was only known to the Department of Mysteries, and the only candidates for the role were the Department Heads of all the major departments except for the Head of the Department of Mysteries. When Harry had researched further, he had realised that was because the DOM was heavily involved in highly confidential and often dangerous research projects, and should their identities become known the risks of someone using them to get into the Department was too high. The Minister was elected for three-year terms, with no limit on how long their length of service.

A bit of further research showed Harry that Cornelius Fudge was currently the Minister, elected nine years after the event known as 'The Halloween'. He had risen fast within the department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes after being the one in charge of the team that had apprehended the 'Black Traitor', Sirius Black. While there was no reference to what Sirius Black had done, Harry knew that since he seemed to be involved in 'The Halloween', he would most likely be able to find him in recent history books or newspapers. Fudge was what Harry considered a peace time minister; one who could be easily pushed around for the right amount of gold and was like a reed in the wind. Bribery and corruption were rampant in his Ministry.

Harry now understood why Voldemort wanted them to get close to their peers. Many of the pure-blood and half-blood students had family members who worked in the Ministry or sat on the Wizengamot. The student that had the most important member in the Ministry was Susan Bones, as her Aunt, Amelia Bones, was the current head of the DMLE. Not only did she have control over all the Aurors but was responsible for many of the other sub-departments and held several other departments accountable. Getting close to her and gaining control over her would allow them almost unstoppable freedom to do anything they wanted.

Of course, Harry recognised that it wasn't going to be easy. She didn't rise to be the Head of the DMLE by being a pushover. He knew that it would take time for them to get close and gain her trust. The odds of her becoming the next Minister of Magic was high – most often or not it was the Head of the DMLE that was appointed due to their control over many of the other departments. It was only because of Barty Crouch's fall from grace at the same time that allowed for Fudge to be given the top job.

_Hogsmeade House_

Harry walked into the house, stopping to allow Apep to slither off to find Nagini and Nuwa. He moved to the kitchen, where he found Voldemort reading the newspaper while Hermione was reading a book. Voldemort's eyes drifted up to look at Harry when he entered.

"Ah, Harry you're here. I trust that the portkey worked then?" Voldemort asked as he folded the newspaper and placed it on the table.

"Yep. I had to leave the blood wards though, the portkey wouldn't activate while I was in them" Harry said, sitting down. Voldemort nodded. "As I expected. Dumbledore wouldn't want someone just portkeying into his weapons house – or leaving it. I assume just like Aeriel here that you received your grades from Hogwarts today?"

Harry grimaced. "Yes, I did. I did … ok."

A single eyebrow raised, and Harry felt himself getting more nervous. "I know it's not ideal, but I can make it work for us. Dumbledore wants me to be the martyr, the one who dies trying to defeat you, yes?" at Voldemort's nod, he continued. "So, if I suddenly come across as too smart, and too powerful, then that will mean Dumbledore might react badly. If I'm just an average student, one who's meek and easily trusting, then he will continue to play into your hands."

The longer the silence went, the worse Harry felt. Voldemort's gaze didn't shift, just gazing at him. Eventually he chuckled, and the tension in the room lifted. Harry released a breath that he wasn't even aware he was holding.

"You hold up better than most of my other Death Eaters and followers. They would have caved long ago. But I agree. I'm well aware of Snape's prejudice against you because of your father, so it doesn't surprise me that he failed you. Dumbledore won't allow you to fail or fall behind, and the only grades that matter are your OWLs and NEWTs, which I can have people in place to easily modify as needed."

Harry looked over at Hermione to see her give him a small grin.

"Now, you both have at least some of the book that I gave you, yes?" when they had both nodded, he continued. "What can you tell me about the types of magic?"

"The Ministry classifies magic as 'Light', 'Neutral' or 'Dark', depending on it's purpose." Hermione quickly recited. "Magics that they deem as destructive or deadly are considered dark."

"Exactly. And that is completely wrong. Magic has no such classification, only that which people have labelled it in their fear. Magic they don't understand, magic that is too powerful for the weak to control, magic they view as only destructive. The ones in power fear what those that can control these spells, and so they label them as dark so that these people become either afraid to perform magic or become enemies of the law."

"But what makes dark magic differ from light magic? Absolutely nothing. It is the purpose behind its use that people should be more afraid of. The cruciatus can be used to restart a heart. The Wingardium Leviosa can be used to float someone off a cliff. The organ liquification spell can be used to help replace damaged organs. A powerful enough stunner in the right spot can kill a person. Fiendfyre, if controlled right, could be used to clear out forests of dead material."

"So," Harry spoke up, "Because people just assume the worst of a spell, they automatically just label it as dark? That seems pointless."

"And you just summed up Magical society in Britain in a nutshell. If they don't understand it, ban it, and no one questions. That is just a small part of what I want to change."

Voldemort stood up and gestured for them to follow. Once outside, they saw the land had been flattened and there were training dummies set up down the end.

"If you so desire, you can come here to practise some magic. However, what I want to cover today with you is non-verbal and chains. It is important that you start to work on your fighting abilities. A good fighter has a large variety of spells that they can quickly fire off. An exceptional fighter has a chain of spells that they can quickly fire off that can work together to quickly take another down. But first, we need to start simple. What do you know about non-verbal and why we use it?"

Harry was stumped, having no idea. He looked over to see Hermione frowning. "It's where you cast a spell without verbalizing the incantation. It's meant to be more difficult than saying it."

"Essentially correct. Non-verbal is more difficult because it requires more focus, intent and visualisation of your desired outcome, as well as greater control over the magic you are releasing. When you cast Wingardium Leviosa, you are wanting to lift something into the air, yes?" They both nodded. "By verbalizing the incantation, you are ensuring that the magic you release is what you want – magic to lift an item. But, when you take that away, you are then relying on your minds ability to visualize what you want and your desire to lift that object – something that some people struggle with. Not only that but taking that away also means that you have to _want_ the spell to work – verbalizing the spell is you stating what you want."

"So, saying the spell is you stating your intent?" Harry said, and Voldemort nodded. "And so, you have to want the spell to work when you say it non-verbal?"

"Correct. Non-verbal is not easy, which is why Hogwarts doesn't start to cover it until you're starting your NEWTs. However, for all this to work I need you to be able to non-verbalize spells sooner. Your alter-egos are going to be leading the distraction, keeping people away from our movements. Dumbledore will obviously be trying to find me and stop me, but with you two it will mean he will not be able to focus his full attention. Now, choose any spell you have learnt, and attempt it non-verbally."

Harry considered all the spells that they had done that year and decided that it would be easier to try it with Wingardium Leviosa first. He found a small rock and pointed his wand at it. '_Wingardium Leviosa'_ he thought and watched as the rock slowly wobbled up. Voldemort walked over. "Impressive. But, did you think the spell, or did you visualize the rock lifting?"

"I thought it." Harry said and Voldemort nodded. "Thinking the spell is actually verbal, and always produces weaker results. Not only that, but spells that you think the incantations in your head always are harder to control."

"Whys that?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know. No one does. That's one of the many things the Department of Mysteries investigates – the general behaviour of magic. And that is what I want you to try – I want you to visualize the magic happening, not think the incantation. Try again."

An hour passed, but neither Hermione nor Harry made any progress. If Voldemort was disappointed, he didn't show it. "That was good for a first attempt. I expect you both to practise this – non-verbal is challenging, but it means you can get the drop on your opponent if they are not expecting it."

"Now, chains. These, as I said, are spells you have combined together to take down your opponent. They are most common amongst those who are in the international duelling circuit, or those who are highly proficient at duelling in general. There is the risk of becoming predictable, so most will have a variety of chains. Observe."

Voldemort waved his wand and a dummy floated over. He lifted his wand, and with a flurry of his wrist sent out five spells.

The first, a violent purple, impacted the leg of the dummy, producing a loud snap. The second wrapped ropes around the dummy, while the third lifted it. The fourth flew past the dummy and impacted on the wall, producing large metal spikes, and the last sent the dummy flying backwards, impaling it on the spikes.

The whole display had taken less then two seconds.

They looked back to Voldemort. "What did you learn there?"

"the first spell would have made your opponent lose focus, allowing the others to occur."

Voldemort nodded. "Yes. Doing that early is crucial – the longer your opponent is focused or determined, the higher the chance of them combating your spells are. Of course, the general skill of your opponent needs to be considered. What I want you to do is to practice this. Choose several spells, and work on your aim, your speed and your focus. Get creative if needed."

The two spent the next hour, throwing spells one after the other until Voldemort deemed himself satisfied. "I understand its simple, and very few will be defeated by these chains you made today, but these can be used to build your speed, your efficiency and your skill. Once this is done, you can start to add spells to your chains, creating new ones as you go."

Training done, they re-entered the house, food appearing on the table as soon as they had sat down, ranging from simple vegetables to lean meats. Harry wondered if Voldemort created the food, had a charm that just brought food to the table, or if there was some other explanation for it.

"A house elf conjures it" Voldemort suddenly said, reaching and grabbing a cup of coffee. Harry started, before checking his shields. "No, your shields are fine for someone who has only just started. But you have the habit of projecting your thoughts too much."

They fell into comfortable silence as they ate, both Harry and Hermione weary after the training. Voldemort, however, looked like he had done absolutely nothing but sit at the table.

"Father" Hermione said. Voldemort raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, so she continued. "What were they all like? Your actual inner circle."

"Well, I'll start with your mother" Voldemort replied. "Fierce, powerful, intelligent and wild. Bellatrix was my enforcer, both as a Death Eater and for my actual purposes. She had an uncanny ability with magic – imagine an eager puppy. Her magic would not only do what it should but would almost do more, as if to please her. She never failed, and I never had to tell her how to go about her mission. Indeed, sometimes all I gave her was a name, and not only did she eliminate that person, but she would have destroyed their families, their homes, their allies and sometimes even their associates. Some of them were done so skilfully that people on both sides started to believe that I had an incredibly dangerous and skilled assassin on my side, who no one knew but I. Bellatrix loved that, knowing that no one believed it was her."

"Lucius Malfoy, on the other hand, was not as powerful as Bellatrix. Where her skills were in fighting and inventive ways of casting magic, Lucius' was in politics, people. He knew people, was close to people, some they weren't even aware of how many of their skeletons in the closet he knew about. He knew everything there was worth knowing about people, especially those who were on the Wizengamot or in positions of power at the Ministry. If you needed blackmail, you needed to know the details of an upcoming bill, or those who would be best to oppose it, Lucius would have the info. He could cultivate allies and determine and destroy our enemies, often all legally and within the system."

"Your mother" and Voldemort turned to look at Harry "was nothing short of a potion and charms god. Her skills at brewing were unparalleled – indeed, she often could be found to be writing recipes and modifications to potions, often creating new ones. The potions that she had created were able to be done in shorter amounts of time, their effects more potent, and many more that became the bane of my enemies. There were times that her potions were enough to wipe out entire groups. Her abilities at Charms meant that she was an accomplished dueller, able to hold her own against many."

"And finally, your father. A transfiguration genius, however, his main skills were in tactics. Being on both sides, he knew exactly how people fought, and therefore knew who to pit them against. Seemingly random attacks, fights and ambushes were nothing more than choreographed skirmishes that he proposed to both sides. People when fighting or duelling often tend to have spell chains and attacks, and James knew what they were. He knew the people that they would easily hold their own, and those that would overwhelm them."

"Those four were my true inner circle. The Death Eaters who believed they were my inner circle were more my outer circle. They were the ones I could give relatively simple tasks to, or slightly complicated tasks, and usually not have to baby them through it. Most of their failures were due to factors they couldn't control."

"Anyway," Voldemort said "that will be all for today. Continue practising spells and chains and study the ritual on page 40 of the book I gave you. Practise your occlumency – I don't need Dumbledore picking through your mind and finding any of this out. And reach out to your peers – they'll be useful."

_Gringotts_

Grocknut was nursing his 'liquid medication' as he preferred to call it. The visit from Voldemort had, as much as he didn't want to admit it, surprised and disturbed him. Yet he couldn't lie – it had sent a thrill through him that he had not felt in over 30 years, not since his last fight in the pit. For him, there was only one problem; he was older now, and the chances of him being able to hold his own in the pit, or against goblins like Ragnok, were slim. But the opportunity to rebuild Gringotts to its former glory, and become the centre of finance for the whole world?

No real goblin would pass that up for anything.

He snarled, knowing that Ragnok wouldn't take the opportunity. He had spent too long with the humans, believing in their "shares" and "stocks". He believed that humans were capable of doing finances. It was insanity! Voldemort was right – a change was needed, and all he had to do was find the right goblin for the job. One who had a good understanding of the inner workings of Gringotts, one who had the guts to do what was needed. One who would be willing to become the new Bank Manager, to spill blood if it came to it.

Grocknut had a few goblins in mind, ones who had been passed over or were clearly goblins who would rise far. Perhaps several of them – after all, the Bank Accounts Overseer and Bank Operations Overseer were all close to Ragnok too – they wouldn't stand by and allow a coup to occur without a fight. Grocknut suspected this was why Voldemort didn't want to get too involved – while an ally, he didn't understand enough about the Goblins to be able to ensure the coup would be successful – but Grocknut could. One wrong move though, and Gringotts could break out into civil war. Grocknut then considered the other item that Voldemort had left.

Sighing, he placed his drink on the table and picked up the slip of paper Voldemort had left. On seeing the name written there, he understood why Voldemort needed the search done discreetly. Were anyone to find out he was even searching for them would raise a lot of awkward questions. The fact that the person was still alive, even after all these years, was a surprise, and yet if it was true, Grocknut could understand the value that he could bring to Voldemort.

Gellert Grindelwald.

Should the man still be alive, his mind would most likely still be as sharp now as it was back in the 40's. Grocknut remembered hearing the stories of the man from his parents, the whispers that built into shouts as he quickly started a rampage against Magical Europe under the guise of a muggle war. The man's charisma and charm had enabled him to gather up such a large following that it had nearly brought the wizarding world to its knees, only being stopped by Albus Dumbledore. Grocknut didn't know how Voldemort planned on keeping him alive for long, as the man had to have been wasting away wherever he was. He contemplated who he was going to ask to find him, and grinned when the perfect goblin came to mind.

_Lower Levels, Gringotts_

It didn't take long for him to make his way to the depths of the living cavern (and that was another thing that made his blood boil – Goblins being forced to live in small caverns!), where black markets ran prevalent and those who didn't want to interact with shady characters stayed away. He made his way to a small pub, well hidden from view.

The Slim Pickings was not a goblin pub that you went to for a good drink or a hot meal. The ale was cheap and the food terrible, but it was considered a gold mine to any goblin, mainly for its use as a trafficking and smuggling point, as well as a good place to have conversations away from prying eyes.

Grocknut slipped in, cloak over his head. He didn't feel like he would be recognised, as no one seemed to pay him any attention, but he hadn't lived as long as he had without being careful. He moved over to a side table and sat down. The other goblin looked up, the only indication of surprise being the slight raise of an eyebrow. "Grocknut" he whispered; his voice as rough as he looked. "Never thought I'd see you here."

"Times are changing Klunrac. I need information." He muttered, keeping his voice low. Klunrac didn't reply, just looked at him as he picked at his teeth with a long fingernail. "And what makes you think that I have the information you seek?"

Grocknut threw a sack on the table, and Klunrac's snatched it off the table. He opened it and counted through the Galleons. "This information must be worth a lot. What is it you seek?"

"A man who has been believed dead or defeated for fifty years. This man." He slid the paper with Voldemort's writing over to Klunrac, who picked it up. The slight widening of his eyes told Grocknut that he was stunned. "What you're asking is very dangerous. Should anyone find out – "

"Why do you think I came to you?" Grocknut cut in, already having weighed out the risks. "Ideally, I need the information soon. What I gave you – consider a minor down payment of what you will receive. The gold doesn't matter to the one wanting the information, just that he gets it in a timely manner."

Klunrac looked back at Grocknut. A small grin, full of teeth, slowly spread over his face. "this man must mean a lot to this _someone_. I will ask around. Anything else?"

"Why yes" Grocknut replied, leaning in and giving his own grin. "Where would I find some goblins, who have been slighted by Ragnok?"

_Harry, Privet Drive_

Voldemort wasted no time, merely letting go of his arm before disapperating away, but Harry was too exhausted to really care. Making his way over to the door, he found himself stalled as his uncle appeared to have locked the door – and had removed the spare key, as Harry discovered when he moved the too conveniently placed brick that sat near it. With a sigh, Harry pulled out his wand and tapped the door handle, muttering an "_Alohomora_" and pushing the door open with a bit more force than necessary.

The Dursleys jumped when they heard the door slam against the wall. Harry glanced in to see Vernon stood in front of Petunia, trying to protect her, and Dudley who was crouched behind the couch. Harry was tempted to send a mild stinging hex at him but decided against it.

"You might want to get the locks changed Uncle. It appears that the spare key has gone missing. Would be a shame if I was accidently locked out the house, wouldn't it?" he said, his eyes not leaving Vernon's face as the tip of his wand started to glow. His Uncle gulped as he stood there, the little blood in his face draining rapidly.

"I-is that s-so? Must have happened recently. Pet, r-remind me to call the locksmith first t-thing" Vernon muttered and Harry nodded, a small smile ghosting his face. He turned and walked up the stairs, gleaming a small sense of satisfaction when he heard the Dursleys sigh with relief that he didn't curse them.

Walking into his room, he leaned against the door frame and sighed. Tired, he went to move to his bed but froze on seeing the strange creature on his bed.

It was small, no taller than his hips, with large eyes and floppy ears. It was wearing the most disgusting item of clothing, which he recognised as a pillowcase after a few seconds.

"Harry Potter? So long has Dobby wanted to meet you, sir!"

Harry nodded, keeping an ear out for the Dursleys in case they panicked from hearing a squeaky voice. "Eh, hi? Dobby, was it? What are you doing in my room?

"Well, Harry Potter Sir, Dobby has come to tell you … oh it is difficult sir … Dobby is unsure where to begin sir."

"Well, you could start at the beginning Dobby" Harry said, sitting down on the bed. Dobby seemed close to bursting, and Harry didn't need more hyperactive squeaking to keep building his headache.

"Well, you see sir, Dobby has come to protect Harry Potter Sir!" Dobby said, bouncing on his feet.

Harry couldn't help it, but he frowned. "I don't mean to offend, but it doesn't look like you could defend much."

To his surprise, Dobby burst into tears. Harry flinched, looking at the door before looking back. "Sorry. Did I do something?"

"Harry Potter didn't want to offend Dobby. Harry Potter Sir is too kind to Dobby." Dobby whimpered, wiping his eyes with the pillowcase.

Once Harry was certain, or as certain as he could be, that Dobby wasn't about to burst into tears again, he spoke up. "So, why do you wish to protect me?"

"Oh, Dobby has come to tell Harry Potter that he must not return to Hogwarts. If he goes, he will be in mortal danger."

Harry was stunned. A few seconds passed before he spoke up. "How do you know this?"

He watched in horror as Dobby squeaked and ran at the wall, throwing himself headfirst. He crumpled at the bottom and then started slamming his head against it. "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!"

Harry pulled his wand out and quickly levitated Dobby away from the wall. Dobby stopped wailing and watched with wide eyes as Harry moved him to the middle of the room. "Harry Potter Sir was performing magic. But young wizards aren't allowed to perform magic outside of school! Young Master –" Dobby froze, and Harry nodded.

"Ok – can't talk about your family, right?" Dobby nodded. "So, what can you tell me about this mortal danger? Nothing that will cause you to hurt yourself."

"Dobby found out about it recently, Harry Potter Sir. Magic, nasty magic is coming to Hogwarts, and is going to place Harry Potter Sir in danger. Dobby heard of Harry Potter Sirs defeat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named a second time recently, and Dobby cannot allow Harry Potter to suffer at his hands again!"

Harry nodded. "Well, Dobby, I don't know what you know but I can't stay here. Hogwarts is my home, and my friends are there."

"Harry Potter Sir must not have many friends since they don't write to Harry Potter Sir" Dobby said.

Harry's eyes narrowed. "Wait, what do you mean?" then his eyes widened. "Have you been stopping my friends from sending letters?"

Dobby froze, before timidly nodding. "Dobby felt that if Harry Potter didn't hear from his friends, he wouldn't want to go back to Hogwarts."

Harry sighed. "Well, you're wrong. I can deal with whatever it is you think is at Hogwarts Dobby. I don't need your help." He held out his hand. "Can I have my letters, please?"

Dobby whimpered, rocking back and forward on his feet. Slowly, he held the letters out and Harry grabbed them. Before he could say anything else, Dobby disappeared with a crack. Harry stared at the spot where the elf was stood before shaking his head. '_I'll speak to Voldemort about this when I next see him. Why wouldn't he mention this?'_

_Voldemort's Study_

The room was silent, exactly how he liked it. He despised unnecessary noise and distractions. Often, he would curse his Death Eaters due to them being noisy or annoying during their meetings. It helped to keep them under his control, certainly, and meant that they all did their best to please him when he gave them orders.

A small twinge of pain popped behind his eyes and he tiredly rubbed them. Thinking of the pure-blooded idiots always gave him headaches. The decades and centuries of inbreeding meant that often most of them were dumb, magically useless or a combination of both. Some got away lucky – James, Lucius, Bella to name a few. Even Narcissa, coming from a family that heavily inbred, was clever enough. What he saw of their son showed that clearly something had gone wrong. He had no finesse, no sense of cunning. Running to your parents showed weakness to your enemies, and Voldemort wondered how Lucius thought of it.

He should visit Lucius soon. Voldemort looked down at the single page that had some notes. Lucius would be more than eager to start playing the Wizengamot and Ministry. Fudge relied too much on other peoples input, and Lucius would be able to play him like a fiddle. Of course, he would need other people in the Ministry, ones working independently of Lucius but working towards the same goal, however

With Harry and Hermione at Hogwarts, he now felt comfortable leaving it in their hands. As students, and as the Boy-Who-Lived, they would be under less scrutiny then anyone else he could send in. Any friends and allies they gathered would be less suspicious too. Perhaps he could find someone else, but if they were too heavy-handed then Dumbledore might notice. Of course, the man was senile, but still caution was necessary.

Gringotts was in a similar situation. He trusted Grocknut; well, as much as you could trust a blood-thirsty goblin. However, the goblin was ruthless and cunning. Getting him to organise a coup would make the takeover of Gringotts easy and place them into a position where they would be willing to work with him.

The next area he needed to work on was the non-magical side. He needed allies, powerful ones, who were willing to work with him. His biggest challenge though was finding ones who both agreed and would allow him and his chosen to dictate and direct how to fix the non-magical world. An idea came to his mind and he smirked. He had an appointment to make.

_10 Downing Street_

The room was dark when John walked into his private residence. He had been stuck in meetings all day, having politicians and aides all clamouring for attention. He walked over to the mini-bar and poured himself a drink. As he poured, he felt a slight chill run down the back of his neck.

"Drink?" he asked, turning once he finished pouring to look at the man who was sat on his couch. The man was young, with an air about him that oozed confidence yet made John feel like he was looking into the eyes of a predator. "I have a 50 year old scotch if that's your particular drink of interest."

The man smiled. "if you're willing to pour two fingers, I'll share a drink."

John nodded, grabbing another glass. Pouring out the right amount, he walked over and sat down on the other couch, facing the man. "I'm assuming, since the alarm hasn't gone off and this room isn't swarming with my security that you're magical."

The man smirked. "Maybe I'm just good at sneaking."

"There is no way a non-magical person can get into this room without being detected. You're magical." John leaned back on the couch. "So, to whom am I speaking? You're clearly not one of the Other Ministers people."

"Tom Riddle, and I must say it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Major. Though, perhaps you've heard of my alternate name – Lord Voldemort." Voldemort sipped some of the drink. "This is a nice scotch."

"Naturally – I'm not going to drink shit" John scoffed. "So, you're the Dark Lord that I heard was terrorising Magical Britain. I thought you'd be older."

"Dying has a way of rejuvenating you. I'm surprised that you're not panicking." Voldemort said.

"Well, if the stories I have been told are true, then I imagine I'll be dead or controlled long before I can raise an alarm." John said. "So, why are you here?"

"Why, to have a discussion with you." Voldemort leaned forward. "What have you been told of my goals?"

"That you wish to subjugate the non-magical world, and to wheedle out the unworthy. Or at least, that's what I've been told by Alex."

Voldemort nodded. "Indeed. The way I went about it, at least publicly, was wrong. To be fair, I was young, inexperienced at the time I started. I had bold plans, and by the time I realised I had made a mistake it was too late to change it. But, as I said, dying has allowed me to put things in perspective. I no longer want to control the non-magical world – I want to fix it."

John put his drink down. "Fix it? What needs fixing?"

"The general ineptitude of world leaders? The carbon footprint? Global warming? War? Take your pick. The non-magical world is in crisis and needs strong people in place to fix it."

"And let me guess, the magical people are the ones to do it?"

"No. We are the ones to help _you_ fix it. The world will be torn apart if magic is revealed to the masses. However, if you were interested, I would work alongside you to fix these problems." Voldemort stood up and walked over to the window. "The general populace are sheep. If they are happy then they sing your praises, if they are not, they bolt and run." Voldemort turned to John. "How much do you like staying Prime Minister?"

"I do enjoy it. But the people won't allow me to stay in power forever – soon I'll make mistakes."

Voldemort smiled. "I'm aware. Your political rivals will do their best to tear you apart. So, what I propose is that we form an alliance. I will help you maintain your position as Prime Minister, and in return all I'll need is your help in implementing some bills that we need."

John nodded. "You know it will be difficult to keep me in power."

Voldemort smiled. "I am the Dark Lord for a reason. It's simple – by the time the next election comes around, it wont matter who else is running. No one else will be considered. The people will keep you in and your government will be stronger than ever." He walked back over and held out his hand. "Do we have an agreement?"

John looked at Voldemort, then stood up and shook his hand. "I don't want to be kept in the dark. Also, why me?"

Voldemort smirked. "Naturally. I'm not like the Ministry; those who are working with me will often be justly rewarded. To answer your second question; I've heard about how the Minister and Ministry treats you – like you're below them. You want to show them that Muggles are a force they should be aware of. Plus, the fact that they get your name wrong as well is just insulting."

John nodded. "Then I think this will work out perfectly."

_Azkaban_

Ten guards. That was all that there was to protect the prison and prevent the prisoners from escaping. It was not a job that anyone wanted, and that meant that if you were there, it was because you either had done something wrong to the wrong person, or you had messed up majorly.

Auror Nick Ollerton grumbled as he moved through max security, delivering food to the prisoners. He had been at Azkaban for three months, all because he had not moved out of the way from his guard post for the Senior Undersecretary to walk past. He shuddered as he moved past the pair of Dementors floating either side of the door, his hand drifting up to grasp the Silver Medallion around his neck.

He reached the end of the corridor and paused. He started to walk back, ignoring the jeering and screams coming from most of the prisoners. He stopped outside Door 9, slid the viewer across and looked in. He frowned when he saw that Lestrange was not jeering as usual, or even looking at the door, but was instead exercising. Clearly, she had been doing exercise for a while, and more intensely too recently, because she appeared to have gained some muscle mass since she was last taken out of the cell.

Nick banged on the door. "What are you doing, Lestrange?"

Bellatrix didn't stop, instead did a few more while counting them out before stopping. She got her knees beneath her and sat up. Nick tried to ignore the sweat that was running down her naked torso enticingly, or the fact that she was much healthier looking than anyone else in Max.

A sly grin grew on her face. "What's the matter, Auror? Don't like what you see?" She pouted and rolled her shoulders and watched as Nick's eyes dropped down to her breasts before coming back up. "I just don't want my clothes to smell like sweat all day" she pouted, talking in a baby tone. It wasn't mocking though, not like she normally did when on raids.

"What are you even exercising for? You're not getting out." Nick said and she chuckled. "True – but a girl has to look good, even if it is for herself." With that, she rolled over and started doing sit-ups. She noticed that it was a few seconds before the viewer closed, and while she didn't stop a smile slowly grew across her face. She listened as the Auror walked off, counting his steps before the door closed. '_fifteen steps. That's how far it is to the door. How many could I go before an alarm goes off?' _she stopped doing sit-ups, and grabbing the bars to start doing pull ups. '_What's the name of that Auror? Nate? Nathaniel? Nick, that's right. Might be useful to get him on my side. Or at least, until I'm out of this cell' _

Nick closed the viewer and moved on. He knew he should report it, being that she almost appeared sane, but if he did then he would lose the view. Letting her continue would do nothing but improve it, not that it was bad to begin with. She seemed to have been one of the lucky few prisoners who seemed to not mind or be affected by being around the dementors, similar to the other Black down the corridor. He chuckled before moving off – maybe being here for a short time wouldn't be so bad after all.

_Next Chapter: They train, Voldemort visits an old friend and the Weasleys!  
_


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. The world of Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling.

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Chapter 6 – Family

_Harry_

A few days had passed since he'd last seen Voldemort, who had requested that they work on their chain casting along with their occlumency and spell repertoire. He had told them that they would be taking part in their first ritual soon, one to give them just a power boost. As such, he had to go and collect the rarer ingredients that was needed since, as he pointed out "rituals are banned by the Ministry because, in nearly all cases, at least one of the ingredients is either horrifying or requires you killing someone."

He had also immediately sent letters to everyone who had sent him mail, knowing that, quite fairly, they would most likely be very worried about the lack of response from him. He had sent one to Ron, stating that he was alive and that he didn't need to worry, as well as telling him about Dobby, though he made sure to ask him about what Dobby was. Though Voldemort had told him about house elves, with the knowledge that Dumbledore was possibly screening and reading his mail, Harry didn't want to tell Ron about Dobby and his appearance and make it obvious that he already knew about house elves. Considering that house elves were taught about in year three in the Care of Magical Creatures elective, Harry knew that he wouldn't be able to get away with making it out that he actually knew anything about them.

The whole idea, as Voldemort had pointed out, was to convince Dumbledore that he was a devout follower of the Light, that he was following Dumbledores plan, and that he would end up fighting against Voldemort to defeat the Dark. If Dumbledore found out that he was working with Voldemort, or he was becoming too knowledgeable, then it would cause a lot of problems for their plans and would have serious consequences, and Dumbledore would become unpredictable.

And an unpredictable Dumbledore was a dangerous Dumbledore.

He had also sent a letter to Hermione for a similar reason. As he was supposed to be stuck at Privet Drive, and Hermione's letter had been blocked by Dobby, he sent her one asking the basic questions, telling her about Dobby as well as asking her for what she thought he was. He knew that she would probably come back with an answer, as her desire to read the entire library would mean that she would have at least a basic idea of what a house elf was. He also knew that she was attempting to learn more about her family, both the Blacks and the Lestranges.

He had sent letters to a few of his other housemates, as well as some from other houses that he had spoken too over the last year. He wanted to build some of those friendships so that he had connections as well as determining if they would be of any use to their plans or could be used by them.

In the meantime, while he waited for everything to happen, Harry decided that he could spend his time training. Since he didn't know too many spells, he decided that rather than start to practice his spell chains, he would work on his accuracy. As such, he had set up a training dummy and would fire Expelliarmus spells at it. He had started with just standing still, his wand holstered. He would then take it out, fire off five Expelliarmus' in a row and reholster it.

When he had first started, he had only hit the dummy once, the other four missing quite a bit. He was glad that he had done that first – the Expelliarmus spell was relatively harmless, so it bouncing back at him (which it had done once) wasn't too bad. So, he had spent a few hours just throwing spells over and over again, until he was consistently hitting the dummy.

He had then started moving, walking back and forth while throwing the spells. That had moved to running, the he had got the dummy to move slowly before he had got the dummy moving around at a fast speed. It had taken a few days before he had reached that point.

Harry sat down, grabbing the water that he had brought out with him. He had been learning new spells as well, relatively simple ones that he felt was useful, as well as spending time reading through his parents journals and watching the pensive memory. It wasn't much, but it allowed him to see his parents, even for a short time. The journals also gave him a good insight into how his parents felt and what they did. He hoped that they would be proud of what he was going to do.

_Later that night_

Harry opened his eyes. Looking at the clock, he frowned when he realised that it was 3:50 in the morning. Groaning, he rolled over towards the window, trying to find a more comfortable position. He wasn't sure why he had woken up this early. As he looked outside, he noticed what looked like stars falling towards him.

He sat up, putting on his glasses as a rumble started to fill the air. Squinting, he realised that it wasn't stars that were coming towards him – it was _headlights_. Harry watched in shock as a _flying car_ slowed down and came to a stop outside his window, Ron beaming at him with Fred and George on the other side.

"Ron?" Harry said, still not believing that Ron was sat in a car outside his second story window. He pushed the window open, leaning forward to look down, and sure enough the car was just hovering in the air. Harry was actually surprised that none of the neighbours had woken up due to the loud noises that was coming from the car. "What are you … what the …"

"You all right, Harry?" Ron said, looking bemused at his friend's shock. "Why haven't you been answering my letters?"

Harry just shook his head, his brain still not coming to terms with the car. Fred (or was it George?) sighed, and pulled the handbrake. "We're here to rescue you Harry! Where's your stuff?"

"Uh … most of it is here, but there's some under the stairs." Harry said, and the twins looked at each other before nodding and getting out of the car.

"Well, you just wait here, and we'll go get your stuff." Fred said, the pair quickly and quietly walking out of the room. Harry turned back to Ron. "Where did you get the car?"

"Oh, it's Dads, we're just borrowing it. He works at the Ministry, you see, in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, and as such he has this obsession with Muggle artifacts, as well as enchanting them to see if he can get them to work better. This is just one of them."

Harry nodded, filing away the information about Ron's Dad for use later. He doubted that making a car fly was a way of getting it to work better, but then that would imply common sense, and that was something that wizards apparently didn't have. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"What do you mean, what am I doing here? You haven't been answering my letters! I've asked you to stay, like twelve times! When you didn't reply, I just remembered where you had told me you lived, and we decided to just come pick you up! You can come stay with us until the end of the holidays!"

Harry nodded, leaving the conversation at that, quickly moving around the room and packing away his spare quills and equipment. He also discreetly packed away the books that Voldemort had given him, along with his new wand and robes. He had a feeling that he wouldn't be coming back here until the next school year, so he didn't want to leave anything.

Fred and George came back pretty quickly, dragging his trunk and placing it into the trunk. He then let Hedwig out of her cage, placing that in the back with him before climbing in. Just as he was about to close the window, Uncle Vernon walked into his room.

The two just stared at each other before Harry gave a small smile, and Vernon visibly shrunk back. "Guess I'll be staying somewhere else for the rest of the holidays. Don't do anything drastic with this room or my stuff, and I'll probably see you next summer, ok?"

Vernon nodded so fast that his neck started to wobble, and Harry had to look away before that image seared into his brain. He knew that he would have a few nightmares about it.

The car took off nice and easily, which surprised Harry since the car sounded even worse while sat on the inside, while the doors had large spots of rust on them and the windows were heavily scratched.

"So, Harry, why didn't you reply to any of my letters?" Ron said. George turned around in the seat and Harry could see Fred looking at him in the rear view mirror. He sighed before looking back up.

"I wrote it in my last letter that I sent this morning, but a house elf has been stealing my letters and keeping them. He said it was because he wanted to keep me safe, as Hogwarts was in terrible danger." That wasn't exactly what Dobby said, but Harry had no intention of telling the Weasleys that he had a house elf stalking him. The twins shared a meaningful look before George turned back.

"That's … very suspicious" George said. "The fact that a house elf came and told you that is really odd – house elves don't normally do that sort of thing. What did he look like?"

"Well, he was really thin, there were bruises all over him and he was wearing a dirty pillowcase." Harry said. A frown spread over Georges face.

"That's … even worse. And he didn't tell you who was plotting it?" Harry shook his head. "Well, he must be a very desperate elf to be able to do that. That being said, it's obviously his master that is doing the plotting. House elves are rarely seen anyway, and if the elf is abused, then they almost never leave the house of their master. Of course, there is the other way, and that their Master was the one who sent him to you to try to protect you. That raises more questions though, like why not tell you what the danger is?"

Harry nodded. The conversation drifted away from that line of thought, going from schoolwork to Quidditch. Harry felt his heart start to lift as he laughed with the Weasleys. Despite what he had been told and shown by Voldemort and Emma, the Weasleys in the car didn't seem too bad.

Eventually, just as the sun was starting to rise above the horizon, the car started to descend towards a road, and the smoothness of the landing told Harry that Fred had most likely flown the car more than just a few times.

Getting out of the car, he followed the Weasleys towards what he assumed to be their home. His eyes drifted over a sign that had 'The Burrow' written on it. Harry guessed that it was most likely the name of their house. Thinking of it, wizards seemed to name all of the places they were at. He decided to look up why that was.

Quietly, they all crept into the kitchen, Fred gently closing the door before turning around. Harry wasn't paying attention, looking around the room at all the various gadgets.

"It's not much" Ron said next to him, and Harry grinned. Before he could say anything, a light turned on and they all spun, the Weasleys going pale.

Mrs Weasley was sat in the chair, arms crossed and leg across her knee. Her face looked like it was carved from stone, and her eyes were blank. Harry found himself starting to edge away from the Weasleys, who were doing the opposite and moving closer together.

"So" Mrs Weasley said, her voice quiet. "Do you have any _idea_ just how worried I've been?"

Harry continued to slide towards the door, ready to sprint across the field at the incoming explosion that he knew was coming. His eye's drifted over to the stairs when he noticed something moving, and he spotted a young girl sat on the stairs. When she saw him, she jumped before running up the stairs. Recalling that her name was Ginny, Harry decided he would go and introduce himself to her later. He turned back as Ron tried to stammer out a reason.

He didn't see her move, but clearly, she must have, because one second, she was sat in the chair and the next she was stood in front of her sons. All three visibly flinched and cowered, which in any other circumstance would have been funny, as she was a good foot shorter than Ron.

"BEDS EMPTY! NO NOTE! CAR GONE! YOU COULD HAVE CRASHED, COULD HAVE DIED! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW STUPID YOUR STUNT WAS? YOU JUST WAIT UNTIL YOUR FATHER COMES HOME!" She then turned towards Harry, who tried not to flinch.

"Ah, Harry, it's good to see you again. I'm sorry for how my son's decided to BRING YOU HERE!" and the three boys flinched again. "Why don't you sit down and have some breakfast? Then the boys can show you where you can stay, and then they'll get started on some chores." She said, moving back towards the stove.

"But mum, we were going to show Harry the … no, you're right, we'll do the chores" Ron trailed off when Mrs Weasley just turned towards him. Harry internally chuckled at that sight. He had a feeling he might actually enjoy staying here.

_Hermione_

The good thing for her was that, unlike Harry, no one was watching her closely at all, meaning that it was much easier for her to leave home. After telling her mum that she was going out, she held her wand out. A few seconds past before a loud 'CRACK' echoed, a triple decker purple bus appearing in front of her.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch and wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike and I will be your conductor this morning. Where would you like to go?"

"Diagon Alley please" She said.

"Well, that would be 11 sickles, unless you want hot coffee or tea, then it's 13."

She held out her hand, handing over 11 sickles. She had read about the Knight Bus when she had been looking up the different types of magical transportation available. Since she didn't know how to make a portkey (and she would be rectifying that soon), she didn't plan on flying a broom anytime soon, and the Ministry wouldn't be putting her house on the Floo System, that didn't leave her with many options.

A wild bus ride later and she staggered off the Knight Bus, Stan waving her goodbye before the bus disappeared. She stood there for a few seconds, the spinning slowly disappearing, before she stepped into the Leaky Cauldron. The witches and wizards around her ignored her, which suited her just fine. The less people paid attention to her the better.

She made her way down the alley towards Gringotts, nodding politely to the guards on the door. Though they didn't visibly react, Hermione caught the slight shock in one of the guard's eyes, probably because most wizards either sneer or just ignore the goblins. The sheer amount of bigotry in Magical Britain was astonishing.

Though she had visited Gringotts a few times before, mostly to exchange her pounds to galleons, it still astonished her at the sheer size and extravagance of the lobby. The marble pillars, the floor lined with what was most likely gold, and the many glass chandeliers just made the place feel so rich. Goblins lined the desks, doing various tasks from completing paperwork, counting gold and talking to wizards, though Hermione doubted that they were being polite. She joined onto the back of one of the lines to speak to the teller.

Once she reached the front of the line, she patiently waited while the Goblin continued to write on his paper. After five minutes had passed, Hermione still stood there patiently, even though behind her she could hear the various witches and wizards grumbling and groaning. She knew it was a power game though, and she was determined not to lose. Eventually the goblin must have had enough, as he put his quill to the side and looked up at her. "What do you want young witch?"

She lifted her head, looking the goblin in the eye while she placed a key on the counter. Voldemort had given both her and Harry a copy. "Enclave. I'd like to speak to the Manager please."

The goblin studied the key, making sure it was legit before nodding. He hopped off his seat and motioned for her to follow. She followed behind him, walking far enough back so that he was leading but not so far that he was having to wait for her. Eventually they stopped outside a door and the goblin knocked. A harsh grunt could be heard from the other side of the door and the goblin entered, closing the door behind him. Hermione just waited outside, looking around the hallway. A few minutes passed before the door opened and the goblin emerged. "You may enter now." He walked off down the corridor, leaving the door open.

Hermione walked in, closing the door behind her. She looked around the room that the goblin was in, who was also writing on paperwork much like his colleague. The room was sparse, with paperwork organized neatly on the desk, two plain chairs and a few books on a small bookcase. She walked over to the desk, sitting herself in the single chair in front. When she did, the goblin placed the paper to the side and looked up at her. "Welcome. I'm Grocknut, Senior Account Manager. May I ask who you are?"

Hermione gave him a small smile. "Hermione, sir. Hermione Granger."

Grocknut hummed. "Granger, or Lestrange?" At her look of surprise, he chuckled. "I already know who you are, I just wanted to see if who you would introduce yourself as. Tom commissioned two keys for the vault you just asked for, so I knew that you had something to do with him. You also, if you look hard enough, look like Bellatrix Lestrange. Now, may I ask why you have visited Gringotts today?"

"Well, after finding out the truth, I wanted to see if I could gain access to my family vaults. It might contain information about my family, or even some useful books or items" Hermione said.

Grocknut nodded. He pulled out a different piece of paper along with a knife. "The good thing is that I can get that information for you now. Normally, we make wizards wait a couple of days, even though the information comes back instantly, causing them to come back and pay two separate appointment fees. However, for an ally of Tom I will happily show it to you now. All you need to do is get a drop of your blood and put it on the paper."

Hermione grabbed the knife, pricking her finger and letting a couple of drops drip onto the paper. When it was done, she pressed her thumb against it, feeling her finger heat up before healing. That was amazing for a couple of reasons; the first being it meant that what she had learnt from the medical book had worked, and the second being that her practice in wandless magic was working. Yes, it was a small spell, but it was a starting point.

Her blood soaked into the paper, leaving the parchment blank for a few seconds before writing started to appear on the paper. Grocknut picked the paper up and looked over it. "Well, the good news is that you are officially registered with Gringotts as both Hermione Granger and Lestrange."

Hermione frowned. "And that's good how?"

"Well, it just means that you have access to both the Granger vault and Lestrange vault, as your mother and aunt have registered you to be able to access them. I won't be able to give you statements for them, as that goes against Gringotts Policy due to you not being the Vault owner. I can tell you that there are heirlooms in the Lestrange vaults, but that is more treasures that have been collected over the family's history. The Granger vault is mostly monetary in its contents, with only a few items that are predicted to be collectables."

"Ok" Hermione said. "Is there anywhere I could go to learn the history of my family?"

"Well, while the Lestrange home is inaccessible due to the wards being locked down by the Head of the House, there is the Black family home, located here in London. As your mother was a Black, you should be able to access it. I know for a fact that the Black family home does hold a lot of history. You should be able to learn or find much of what you wanted there."

Hermione nodded and got up. "Thank you. If I could get the address, then I will head there immediately."

Grocknut quickly wrote a note on a piece of paper, sliding it over to her. She saw it had an address on it and she picked it up. As she reached the door, Grocknut called out and she stopped. "Miss Lestrange – just remember that if you need anything, just contact me either by owl or Floo. We are on the same side of this war. Also, be very careful at the Black home – just because you are a Black doesn't mean you're safe. That home is full of dangerous items, many of which can kill you very easily if you are not prepared."

Hermione nodded before walking out. She made her way out of Gringotts, nodding again to the guards before quickly making her way to the Leaky Cauldron.

It turned out that it wasn't far to the house, probably because the Blacks, being the typical egotistical purebloods that they were, wouldn't have wanted to be far from the centre of magical Britain. The house appeared as she walked up, and she watched in awe as the building seemed to just grow between number 11 and 13. Shaking her head at the display of magic, she walked up the steps and touched the door handle.

Nothing happened for a few seconds, before a soft click and a creak resulted in the door opening slightly. She pushed the door open further, her Alder wand in hand. When nothing attacked her, she stepped in and let the door close.

The house was musky and looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a very long time. It was incredibly dark, and though she had tapped her wand on the light closest to the door as Grocknut had suggested, the lights didn't provide much to push back the darkness. "_Lumos_" She said, the tip of her wand lighting up.

She moved forward carefully, Grocknut's warning ringing in her ear. The last thing she wanted was to die or be permanently cursed because she wasn't careful. Once she looked around the ground floor, she started to move up the stairs. As she walked past the drapes, they flew open. Hermione spun and stared at the large painting on the wall.

"_FILTH! ANIMALS! HOW DARE YOU –"_ the woman suddenly stopped, seemingly just noticing her. "Oh. You're … a Black. That explains why the house let you in easily. What is your name child?"

"Hermione, Hermione Gra… Lestrange. Hermione Lestrange." She said, lowering her wand slightly.

The woman's eyes narrowed, before she leaned back. "Ah yes. You must be Bellatrix's daughter, yes?" Hermione nodded. "Good. It is good to know that she did end up having a child before she got incarcerated. It means that you can save the legacy and fortunes of this house. Tell me, is the mutt still alive?"

"I'm sorry ma'am, but I'm not sure who 'the mutt' is" Hermione said. She didn't recognise the woman, though the odds were that she was a Black, meaning that she would likely be an Aunt, or Great-Aunt possibly.

"My ungrateful son, Sirius Black. He hasn't returned to the house in several years, and I imagine that he has gotten himself arrested or killed." The woman rolled her eyes. "Honestly, he didn't care about the family, or improving our standing. He didn't even care about improving magical rights! He just threw himself at Dumbledore and those muggleborns. Now he is the Lord of House Black!."

"I think Sirius Black is in Azkaban, serving a life sentence. He betrayed the Potters to the Dark Lord." Hermione said.

The woman scoffed. "I know my own child, and I know he would never do that." She started to chuckle. "Which means he was tricked or fooled. Oh, I bet he wished he listened to my lessons, or at least learnt to pay attention." The woman laughed, and Hermione just watched in quiet bemusement. "Oh, forgive me. I haven't introduced myself. I am Lady Walburga Black, Sirius' mother."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Black" Hermione said, inclining her head. Walburga seemed pleased at that if the smile on her face was any indication.

"A pleasure to meet you as well. I am glad that Bellatrix hid you away – I shudder to think what would have happened if the wizards of the Light found you. Are your studies going well?"

"I am top of my year in most classes, and number one overall." Hermione said, and Walburga nodded.

"That is good, child. A Black should always work to be the best there is. I assume that Hogwarts is still having problems with the defence class?" Walburga asked.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, sadly. Not only that, but the History class is run by a ghost, and the potions class is run by a bully."

Walburga hummed, before looking at the base of the stairs. "Kreacher."

A pop next to Hermione had her twist around, wand out to point at the ugliest creature she had ever seen. It's large eyes focused on her before it turned back to the portrait and bowed, its long nose almost touching the ground. "How can Kreacher serve you, Mistress?"

"Kreacher, this is Bellatrix's daughter. You are to obey any order she gives you, even if my useless son tells you otherwise."

"Mistress is telling Kreacher to disobey Master Sirius' orders?" Kreacher said, standing back up. He looked over at Hermione again. "Kreacher will happily take orders from Mistress Bellatrix and her daughter."

"Good" Walburga looked back at Hermione. "The mutt is, as I said, Lord of House Black. Sadly, it means that he controls the wards and can order any House Elf that House Black has. This house is, or was, one of the most warded homes in Magical Britain. I know that Dumbledore wanted to use this place as a headquarters for his Order. With Sirius being the Lord, he will gain access to the house."

Hermione frowned. "Well, that won't do." She couldn't stop him from doing that, but she could protect it. She turned back to Kreacher. "Kreacher, if Sirius orders you to throw any Black heirlooms out, you are to take them and place them somewhere where he doesn't know they are, so that he thinks you have got rid of them. You are to then tell me when he isn't looking. Likewise, if anyone else does attempt to throw the stuff out, you are to prevent it."

Walburga smiled, her eyes showing that she approved of Hermione's orders, and a smile broke out on Kreacher's face. "Kreacher will be glad to do that, young Mistress. Kreacher likes young Mistress much more than the nasty son."

Hermione turned back to Walburga. "Now, I don't mean to sound rude, but I came here to find out more about my family, as well as to see if there were any books on magic. Is there a library here?"

Walburga laughed. "My dear girl, the only library that is larger than ours is the one at Hogwarts. And unlike Hogwarts, we hold many books on dark magic. They will need to be protected as well. As for family, there is the family Grimoire, as well as the family tree upstairs. Kreacher can show you."

Hermione nodded, and looked down at Kreacher. Realising what she wanted, Kreacher set off towards the stairs, Hermione following at a sedate pace. They went up one flight of stairs before Kreacher entered another room, Hermione following and stopping at what she saw on the wall.

The large family tree was incredibly detailed, golden branches spreading all over with pictures and names spread all over. As she looked, Kreacher walked over and pointed at a particular spot. "Mistress Bellatrix is here on the tree, Young Mistress."

Hermione walked over, crouching down to look closer. Her fingers reached up and touched the painted face on the wall. Her fingers traced down and stopped over her own name and picture. Tears sprang up in her eyes as she saw another link to who she was. She turned back to Kreacher. "Kreacher, can you hide my name from anyone except for those who I tell you to?" Kreacher nodded. "Good. I want you to hide all the books on dark magic, along with any truly dark objects, in a place only you know. You are only to bring them out when I tell you to, otherwise you are to tell anyone who asks, including Sirius, that they have been destroyed already. Understood?"

Kreacher nodded. "Kreacher will happily protect the history of the Noble House of Black."

"Good. I also want you to clean this place – properly. If we are to make the House of Black respectable again, then this place needs to be as respectable as the image we are presenting."

Kreacher bowed again. "Kreacher will clean this place everyday to ensure it is to your wishes, young Mistress."

Hermione smiled. "Good. Thank you, Kreacher. Now, shall we go to the library?"

_Lucius_

The Floo flared as Lucius stepped out. Taking off his cloak and throwing it at the closest elf, he set off towards his study. Shutting the door, he flicked his wand at the fire before walking over to his desk. He pulled the stopper out of the tumbler, poured a couple of fingers of scotch and turned around, freezing when he did.

Voldemort gave a small smile. "Lucius. It is good to see you, old friend."

Lucius smiled, walking over, and sitting down. "Tom. I must admit, I didn't think you would be back yet."

Voldemort nodded. "Yes. However, an opportune moment came up, and I utilised it." He leaned forward. "How much do you know about what happened at Hogwarts last year?"

"All I could gather, between my son's tantrums and Dumbledores tangents, is that Harry Potter was involved in a teaching accident."

Voldemort nodded. "Yes. Harry Potter was hospitalised because he came down to prevent me from gaining the Philosophers Stone."

Lucius just stared at him, and after two minutes Voldemort started to consider that he might have broken Lucius' mind. Eventually Lucius breathed out and downed his drink. "The Philosopher's stone? At Hogwarts? How?"

"An elaborate scheme of Dumbledore's, probably to test the prophecy, or his interpretation of it, as well as to force a confrontation between Harry and I, most likely to cement in Harry's mind that Dumbledore is his hero. And yes, it was the actual stone he used, not a fake."

Lucius blinked and shook his head. "Has he actually gone fully mad? Any sane person would not use the actual object to bait someone."

"Hmm, well I've been questioning his sanity ever since I met him, so this didn't exactly surprise me. What took me so long was not his defences, but rather knowing that James and Lily's son, as well as Bellatrix's daughter, was there."

Lucius nodded. "I thought she was, based off what Draco has told me. If she's anything like her mother, then I feel sorry for anyone that pisses her off."

Voldemort chuckled. "If anything, she's smarter and stronger. Not that Bellatrix was a pushover by any means."

Lucius chuckled as well. "So, how did you get them on our side?"

"Yes. Rather easily – after learning what I could about where Harry was hidden away, I simply observed him. When the time came, I simply dangled a carrot in front of him. It was risky, because if Dumbledore had done what he should have, and told Harry what he wanted to know, then Harry would become our enemy. Instead, in his deluded brilliance, Dumbledore essentially led Harry straight to me by playing his games."

Lucius sighed. "See, things like that are why I have been pushing for Dumbledore to step down, or at least allow some oversight. He has too much freedom and power and he's losing it – and playing with children's lives is never ok."

"Oh, don't worry. We'll be taking that power from him. Now, I sensed nervousness when you saw me." Voldemort leaned forward, his red eyes glinting. "Why were you so nervous, Lucius?"

Lucius gulped. "You see, Arthur Weasley is introducing a new bill, the muggle protection act. It will allow him to raid any house he feels like as long as there's "suspicion" of dark muggle-baiting material."

Voldemort nodded. "Allowing him to raid any Death Eater home legally. So why would you be nervous about that?"

Lucius sighed. "To try and discredit Arthur, allowing me to get the bill modified or thrown out altogether, I … plan on giving one of his children the diary. The mayhem and possible destruction that it will cause would not only destroy Arthur Weasleys reputation and bill but would also deliver a blow to Dumbledore's as well, possibly allowing the Board to remove him from his position as Headmaster."

Voldemort stared at him; eyes strangely blank. Lucius could feel sweat building on his forehead but didn't move or flinch – he may be one of Voldemort's closest allies and friend, but that didn't mean that Voldemort wouldn't curse him close to death.

Voldemort suddenly got up, and Lucius involuntarily flinched. He watched as Voldemort walked over to the fire. He stood, staring at the fire before he turned around.

"You … decided to use one of my fake horcruxes … and send it directly into Dumbledore's territory?" Voldemort hissed. Lucius gulped and nodded, though Voldemort wasn't looking in his direction. Eventually he turned around, and Lucius relaxed slightly at the small smile on his face.

"While I think there are a lot of risks with your plan … the benefits outweigh them. As long as we play it right." Voldemort said. Lucius nodded, relief flooding through him. "That doesn't mean I'm happy with you. I do think your plan can work though – Harry and Hermione can monitor and report what is happening from the inside. Now, what's your opinion on Fudge? His usefulness to our cause?"

Lucius snorted. "Not at all. If we want to implement laws and changes, we'll need someone with guts and the balls to actually fight the Wizengamot on it. Fudge is too shallow – he cares more about public opinion and bribes then reforming anything. The biggest problem we have is going to be removing him – it won't be easy, especially with his Senior Undersecretary. I know her, and she'll do anything to keep him in power. The second biggest problem is that if we removed him, then the next in line will be Amelia Bones. And, I can tell you, she'll be a problem for us. I don't think it will be good for your plans if she's in charge."

Voldemort chuckled. "Oh, Lucius – removing Fudge won't be a problem, because having Amelia Bones as the Minister of Magic is _exactly_ what I want."

_The Burrow_

The only way that Harry could describe the Burrow was … unique was probably the best way to. Once you moved beyond the glaringly obvious health and safety hazard that was the building, which looked like a slight breeze should have brought it crashing down ages ago, it was rather quaint. The inside of the house was similar, giving off a warm, comfortable feeling. The various trinkets and junk laid around showed that the house was interesting to look at – seeing magic used so casually was something that Harry had never seen before. Though he hadn't spent a lot of time at Hogsmeade House, he knew that Voldemort wasn't one to use magic like this.

Harry was definitely taking it all with a pinch of salt. While there wasn't any obvious indication that Dumbledore had suggested breaking him out, or had anything to do with it, Voldemort's comments made Harry feel like there was a possibility. Mrs Weasley had certainly pulled through on her hospitality, making Harry feel very welcome in her home, and Harry started to think that, if Voldemort was right in that they were used on the platform by Dumbledore, that it was likely they were tricked by him to be there, and not being complicit in Dumbledore's plan.

While Molly had sent them up to Ron's room to sleep, neither Harry nor Ron were tired, instead they talked some more about Dobby and his warning, and what it could be that could possibly put them all in danger. However, they didn't get much further than what they had discussed in the car on the way there, as Dobby hadn't really provided much for them.

"Well, the thing is, is that there's not much that could put us in mortal danger. And besides, we have teachers like Flitwick, McGonagall and Dumbledore! Surely they will keep us safe" Ron said, flicking through his Quidditch magazine.

Harry disagreed with Ron on that, though he didn't say it out loud. After all, you just had to look back on their first year to see that the teachers weren't the best at looking after them, plus it added more evidence to that Dumbledore was playing games with them. "I suppose. I don't know, I just have a bad feeling about it Ron."

Ron scoffed. "It's likely that someone just was having a joke with you mate. I mean, really, a house elf doesn't just disobey its master to warn people of danger unless they tell them to. Don't worry about it." With that, Harry could tell that the conversation had ended, and so he picked up one of his books.

A short time later, and Mrs Weasleys voice rang up the stairs. Harry put down his book, deciding on walking down the stairs at a sedate pace after Ron sprinted down the stairs so he could get dinner. As he passed one of the open doors, he heard a gasp and the door shut. Harry looked at it and realised that it was Ginny's room. He turned to walk away, before stopping.

After all, wasn't the whole point of what they were doing to determine who would be useful to them or not? Ginny was an untapped resource – coming fresh to Hogwarts, it would easy to mold her to their goals, and give them an in with the Weasleys other than Ron. She could report back to them on what her family was getting up to,

He turned around and walked back to the door, knocking gently on it. He heard scuffling from inside the room, but no one called out. He sighed before knocking gently again. "Ginny? It's Harry. I just wanted to say hi, I've heard a lot about you from Ron."

A few seconds passed, and he wasn't sure that she was actually going to come to the door. He was about to walk away when the handle turned and the door opened slightly, Ginny looking through the door. He smiled and waved. "Hi"

She looked like she was ready to bolt again, her hand gripping the door tightly. "Hi" her voice came out like a whisper.

"Like I said, I wanted to say hi. You're coming to Hogwarts this year, right?" Harry said, and she nodded, slightly opening the door more. "Well, if you want to talk or need help with homework, just come and find me at Hogwarts ok?"

Her eyes lit up, and a large smile grew on her face. "Really? You wouldn't mind?"

Harry shook his head. "No, of course-"

"HARRY!" Ron yelled, stomping up the stairs. "Come on, mate! Dinners going to get cold." Ron then seemed to notice Ginny, who was stood staring at him. Ron glared at her before turning back to Harry. "Just ignore her mate. She's like Hermione – mental and annoying."

Ron turned around and walked off, and Harry looked at Ginny. He wasn't certain, but it looked like a flash of irritation had crossed her face at Ron's comments. If it did, though, it passed quickly, as she turned back with a small smile. "It was nice to meet you, Harry" she said, running down the stairs after her brother.

Harry smiled, watching her walk down the stairs before following her down. He may have just found their first ally at Hogwarts.

_Ginny_

She couldn't believe it. Harry Potter, her hero! He was here! And he was cute as well, and humble. She hadn't believed that Ron was telling the truth about actually being friends with Harry Potter, but to see him here and for him to actually be interested in talking to her! She couldn't believe that he would actually seek her out to introduce himself!

Of course, Ron hadn't allowed him to spend that much time talking to her. After all, she was just his annoying sister. Why should she be allowed to be involved? She wasn't allowed to talk to their friends, she wasn't allowed to be involved in their Quidditch games, she wasn't even allowed to go see her only friend since her mum accidentally blew herself up.

Maybe she'll finally make some friends at Hogwarts. She'd finally be away from her mother! Maybe she would become friends with Harry! Maybe she could make a name for herself and do what she wanted!

She was distracted from her musings by the sight of Harry walking across the lawn. She watched as he walked off towards the tree line, disappearing from sight once he reached them. She frowned – what could he be doing out there? Was he exploring or something?

It didn't matter, really – she wasn't going to tell her parents what he was doing – her mum would just have a go at Harry, and then he wouldn't want to be her friend.

_Harry_

Once it was dark enough, and the variety of sounds had died down, Harry sneaked out of Ron's room and made his way outside towards the nearby clearing. When he had gotten back from dinner, he had found Hermione's kestrel Eris waiting with a letter, instructing him to head to the clearing when he could. Weaving between the trees, he moved towards the clearing and found Nagini in the middle of the clearing.

{_Hello, Nagini. I am surprised that you are here and not Tom_} Harry said. He reached out to stroke her scales, and Nagini moved her head so that he would get better access.

{_Massster felt that it would be better if he didn't come too clossse to thisss place. Asss sssuch, he hasss sssent me to passssss on a message. He sssaysss that it will be easssier for you to ssstay here for now. He isss working on a way for you to be able to complete the ritual before you go back to Hogwartsss. He alssso sssaysss that he will try to meet up with you and Missstressssss at Diagon ssso he can organize hisss plansss with you._}

Harry sighed. {_Well, that is annoying_}

Nagini hissed in laughter. {_Young massster, you are ssstrong. It will not be long before you sssee usss again._}

He stepped back nodding. {_You are right. Please let him know that I look forward to meeting him at Diagon, and that I will continue to study as I can_}. He went to walk away before stopping and turning back. {_Tell him that it is most likely that we will go to Diagon on the day that Lockhart is doing his signing. Mrs Weasley is obsessed with that man_}

Nagini gave a nod before slithering away. Harry sighed before making his way back to the house. He didn't like not being able to see Voldemort and Hermione for a few weeks, but he was willing to wait until then. He had plenty to practice.

_Gilderoy Lockhart_

'_Ah, to be famous'_ Gilderoy thought to himself as he packed his trunk. He had finally gotten the position of Defence against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts, after having applied for the last few years. How dare Dumbledore not actually accept him? He was famous! Sure, he hadn't actually done any of those things he was famous for, but the students wouldn't know that, and Dumbledore surely wouldn't know that, or be able to prove it.

However, that didn't matter, for as soon as he had applied, he had discreetly and anonymously leaked to the press that he had applied. The press had gone wild, sending him letters for quotes while running articles about it, highlighting all of his adventures and many awards and writing glowing reviews for him pointing out how perfect he would be teaching the children of Magical Britain how to defend themselves. The sales on his books had gone up significantly, and Gladys Gudgeon had naturally sent more letters, praising him for caring about the next generation! It was a shame, really, that she wasn't younger, otherwise he would definitely be more interested in reciprocating the flirting.

Naturally, he couldn't risk that someone else would apply as well. So, thanks to the cute young girl in the Magical Education department who fawned and had metaphorically rolled over to give him what he wanted when he had flashed her one of his smiles, he had found out who else had applied. A quick check on their backgrounds allowed him to blackmail the other applicants, again anonymously, making them back out to protect their livelihoods and their reputations.

After his application was outed in the press, and the Ministry had continuously pressured Dumbledore enough, Hogwarts had sent him a confirmation letter accepting him for the role. He had, naturally, celebrated with his favourite pastime, leaving him one very happy famous man.

Of course, he was also excited to be going to Hogwarts again. Beyond getting to see the castle again, he would have close access to the students, and most likely would have to supervise some of the detentions. Undoubtably most of them would want to help him with tasks or would be intimidated by him, as he was very famous and well liked in Magical Britain. Therefore, he would be able to get away with more of his favourite activities in those 'detentions'.

And luckily for him, he was very proficient with Obliviate spells.

Oh yes, he was looking forward to going to Hogwarts this year.

_Next Chapter: the Visit to Diagon Alley!_


End file.
